Spinning Whispers
by OmniSchreiber
Summary: "What then, is the sanctity of life, but to take life from those who sow death?" Post-war genfic, Pre-Promise canon. Aang, Zuko, and co. struggle on multiple fronts as the fragile peace is challenged; Azula becomes a wildcard fugitive amidst the chaos.
1. Always Fools

PREFACE

Hello readers. This story will be my first fanfic, and my first attempt at writing fiction in many years. I consider it to be a creative warm-up of sorts, but that does not mean it's going to be slap-shod textual garbage either. Once upon a time I took creative writing as a serious endeavor... my means of artistic expression since I suck at drawing or painting ;)

Unfortunately, being more career-minded caused me to shove aside enjoyable hobbies for far too long. The _Avatar_ story was so compelling, so damn well written and presented, that when it ended I couldn't help but want more... and found myself reading several dozens of stories on ficnet. Now I'm going to take my own crack at it.

But enough about me, I want to briefly talk about the framework for my story.

Let me list what this story is: a post-war gen-fic, canon I would say, looking to extend the story in a way that makes sense without being predictable or stupid. Lots of people have done this; some have done this better than others. I hope to be the latter, but time will tell.

Many of the core characters have loose ends at the conclusion of Book III, and I intend to resolve some of those. I also intend to develop some of these characters beyond what Mike and Bryan put forth, because lets face it... they're kids and they still have growing up to do. They have more mistakes to make, more things to learn, and more battles to fight.

I will do my best to preserve the fantasy-ness of the story and try to keep my own cynicism and "people would never do that in real-life" comments out of it as much as possible. Suspension of disbelief is part of making a story like this enjoyable. That said, the lines of what is common and plausible in the _Avatar_ universe have been drawn, and I'm not inclined to smash them around to make them fit my story... my story has to fit the source material. The end result should be something I might call 'plausible fantasy'.

Of course, let me also mention what this story is _not_: a ship-fic of any kind, or a story meant to pander to any particular community. It's just a story. There will, of course, be relationship developments and possibly changes, because that's what human beings do: develop and change. Don't expect me to focus on a couple more than the overall plot though.

I should also mention that this story will not focus exclusively around the 'Gaang' as they've come to be called, which I now consider to be Aang, Katara, Toph, Zuko, Sokka, and Suki. The story will eventually incorporate more attention for a few supporting characters, and some OCs as well.

I'm also not writing this story for the sake of boosting my ego with review-praise. I hope the meanest, most critical jerk in the entire ficnet community comes to review my story and just rips it apart (constructively, of course... I can't learn or improve from flames). But if no one reviews, that's cool too... ultimately I just want to practice the art.

Finally, a couple of quick notes on locations. I'm assuming that the avatar world is round, and the maps shown display most of the known landmasses, and that there is a huge amount of ocean between the western shore of the Fire Nation and the eastern shore of the Earth Kingdom. In line with this, I'm assuming this stretch of sea to be extremely dangerous to travel by boat, be it by weather or sea serpents or what have you, which would explain why approaches between the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom has always been what they were. With air travel, in my story Ozai actually went west from his capital and arrived at an island to the east of Ba Sing Se, which is where the Wulong forest lies. This is also the route the giant lion-turtle took Aang on. I've done my research based on Nickelodeon's site and other sources to get the idea of where various towns and other places are supposed to be, but I may deviate from what is accepted as fact because some locations (Great Divide being one of them) just don't make sense to me.

Preface over. I humbly present the first chapter of _Spinning Whispers._

Chapter 1: Always Fools

Fire Lord Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long, hot breath. On the open deck of his small diplomatic airship, he leaned over the railing and watched his exhalations immediately cool into misty vapors.

He chuckled slightly. At this altitude, maybe his breath would contribute towards the next storm-cloud over the northern reaches of the Earth Kingdom. _Some places could really use the rain._

No more than a month ago, his father and a large contingent of firebenders had incinerated a great portion of the Wulong forest, east of the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se, with the power granted by the passing of Sozin's comet.

His father, the previous Fire Lord, Ozai, had intended to burn a swath straight into and beyond the outer wall of Ba Sing Se and consume as much of the Agrarian Zone and other nearby life-teeming lands as he could, all in a display of awesome firepower. All with the express purpose of destroying _hope_.

Then his father, who would call himself Phoenix King, found the last airbender, Aang, the Avatar and hope-incarnate, waiting at the edge of the forest for him... and Aang would not be destroyed that day.

Since his ascension to the throne, it dawned on him that the trials ahead were not going to be easier than before. Just different. Wrapped up in his thoughts so much as he was, he nearly flipped over the railing when Suki tapped him on the shoulders.

"Sorry!" the Kyoshi Warrior managed between chuckles, "Why so jumpy?"

Zuko relaxed and tried to compose himself, but the effort only made Suki laugh even more. "I'm concerned about what's waiting for us back in the Fire Nation."

Zuko's words seemed to sober her. "Could be anything; could be nothing at all. If there's a problem, I'm sure Ty Lee and the rest of my girls will be all over it."

"I'm not doubting them. It's just that part of me hopes I'm just being paranoid, but I know I'm not. Things are going to get complicated when we flush the rats out of the council and the nobility. What we have now seems so... fragile."

"It's not fragile, Zuko, it would take a lot of effort to break the peace we've begun putting together. Even your crazy sister would have trouble undoing what we've accomplished," Suki smiled brightly, then added: "Have some faith."

"I want to... but with snakes like General Bujing likely to strike at any moment... well that was part of the point of this trip I guess. Bait them with my absence."

"I thought it was to celebrate with friends?"

"Well, that too."

Zuko gripped the railing. He wanted vermin like Bujing to incriminate themselves. That man, who thought nothing of sacrificing an entire rookie division for the sake of a military feint, deserved to be in chains for life.

But his Uncle Iroh advised patience. _Zuko, you_ _cannot not risk going on a spree of punishment against your own people... not without a reason the public would accept._

He touched the waxy scar on the left side of his face and wondered how things would have been different if he had actually dueled Bujing instead of his father. He quickly dismissed the line of thought - too many variables - and exhaled another big puff of air, watching it disappear into the darkening view of the land. The sun was setting, and he could no longer make out the details of the Earth Kingdom as they flew by. All he saw were big, rolling shadows.

"I'm turning in Zuko. Try not to be so negative."

He barely managed a nod, not even turning towards her. Probable treachery wasn't the only thought plaguing him. He didn't know what to do about the colonies, and would most likely need to make a trip out to them himself at some point. The total colony population was sizable, but he believed they could be relocated if he was smart about it. Just the same, he knew that many of his people living there would not be happy about moving, having established their livelihood and families.

"Aren't you cold?" a deep, slightly monotone but distinctly feminine voice called behind him. Zuko turned towards Mai, and she added, "Do you want to share your life story?"

"No, and... no. I've been looking backwards enough today." Mai smiled and rolled her eyes, although both gestures were slight. Zuko let out a small laugh, already feeling his mood shift back to something more centered. He noticed she was still wearing the white and green dress from their last moments at his uncle's tea shop; her open-mindedness on color was easily one of her more obvious changes, although she still pretended to hate orange and preferred red and black.

"A wise decision, Zuko," she said as he pulled her into a warm embrace. "Would I be crazy if I said I'm starting to miss your tantrums?"

"Tantrums?" Zuko gave her a half-hearted groan, betrayed by the grin on his face. They held each other in silence for a moment, enjoying the contrast of the night air to their own shared warmth.

"Suki went to sleep already, it's been a long day," Mai eventually said.

"I was talking to her a few minutes ago."

"About?"

"The usual."

"Ah."

"Glad you got along with them." Zuko said, suddenly changing the subject.

"Hmm? They're alright, although Toph could have refrained from bruising my arm."

"Better get used to that, being Toph's friend is almost as painful as being her enemy."

"We should probably turn in as well," Mai offered. Zuko nodded, knowing the airship would find home without issue. He trusted the handful of guards, engineers, and navigators on the ship to see them home safely, most of them were the same men who were his crew for three years.

* * *

The _Jasmine Dragon_ was bustling with activity, and although Avatar Aang was glad to see Iroh's business doing well and loaded with the laughter of happy people, he was secretly hoping for the tea shop to be empty.

Aang had spent the better part of the day arguing with various Earth Kingdom nobles, dodging mobs of over-zealous admirers, and saying goodbye to a lot of dear friends. Zuko, Mai, and Suki had set out the previous night on Zuko's private airship towards the Fire Nation capital city. He would be joining them eventually, as he had no doubt the Kyoshi warriors will have dug up some ill-tempered Fire Nation military personnel and they were likely to need his presence in maintaining peace during their apprehension.

Sokka and Katara had set out with their father that morning, heading southeast for Chameleon Bay, where they would take a Southern Water Tribe ship back home. It was hard watching the two siblings depart, especially Katara, after they had been together for so long, but they had not been home for almost three seasons, and his immediate duties were still in Ba Sing Se.

Toph, who had been uncharacteristically teary in seeing off 'Snoozles' and 'Sweetness', gave Aang a crushing hug and abruptly said she was off to see her own family in Gaoling. Aang hoped she would refrain from churning up the roads too much, but held little hope as she began her journey by drilling right through the outer wall of the city instead of using the open gate that was only a few steps away. General Sung would have a fit.

Sighing, he snuck around to the back of the shop and gracefully leaped through a nearby window into what had become his temporary living quarters. General Hao, leader of the Earth Kingdom's Council of Five and now acting regent while the absent King Kuei was being tracked down, had offered Aang a place in the palace, but Aang rarely stayed there as it only made it easier for him to be found.

Aang was the Avatar, and held a copious amount of wisdom for such a young man, but he knew so little of politics and had little impetus to learn about it. He was beginning to consider dictating a policy of 'call me when you need me to glow-it-up', but then mentally berated himself for trimming his Avatar responsibilities down to simply using his raw power. The monks, even Gyatso, would be wagging their fingers at the thought.

After changing into a set of unassuming tan and brown robes with a high collar and donning a simple cap and gloves, he strode towards the kitchen to see if he could help Iroh without getting mauled by the customers. As he turned the corner, he saw Iroh in a rather uncomfortable looking position: tipped over and standing on one leg, the other foot in the air sending a thin stream of fire to heat a kettle on the nearby stove, while his hands were busy with a mortar and pestle on the opposite counter, grinding tea leaves. His head was turned away from the counter, towards the stove, and he was blowing another thin jet of flame towards a second kettle on the stove behind him. His face was showing obvious stress from the exertion and his lips were comically twisted in order to blow flame in the right direction.

"Hi, Iroh! Need some help?"

"Hwuh?!" was all he got back, as the old General jumped and lost his balance. The unintelligible response was paired with flame spittle in Aang's direction, and the mortar's contents flew into the air. Aang quickly swatted the errant flame away with his left hand and brought his right hand forward with a twist, sending a small whorl of air to catch the tea grounds and deposit them back in their place. Iroh grabbed at the counter and hoisted himself back to his feet, rubbing his backside.

Aang winced. "Sorry..."

The Dragon of the West composed himself, "It's okay Aang, you only startled me. I'm just glad your remarkable reflexes spared you any loss of skin and," he turned to the counter, "any loss of tea! I would certainly appreciate some help. I admit I wasn't expecting this degree of business so soon, and I have not had a chance to hire assistants." He raised a bushy, gray eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't have more pressing matters?"

"Maybe, but I'm a bit tired of being the Avatar for today and just want to be Aang for a bit. Besides, the Avatar is all about keeping balance and... I can see this place could use some more of it."

Iroh let out a belly-busting laugh, "I always knew airbenders had a great sense of humor!"

* * *

As the evening hours waned, Iroh's clients thinned out and eventually disappeared completely. It had been a prosperous night; he even had the good fortune of partially addressing his employee deficiency, as Jin, who Iroh recognized as the girl who had a crush on his nephew while they were refugees here months ago, had wandered in hoping for a job. Iroh was happy to bring her on board, as she had demonstrated she knew her way around tea (and a pretty young lady could only help his business), and he discovered she was trying to raise money for University expenses.

Jin, not to Iroh's surprise, had long since figured out who they were, thanks to his nephew's shockingly romantic but typically short-sighted idea to light the lower ring fountain's torches and candles on their date. Despite Zuko's involvement in Ba Sing Se's occupation, she held no grudges and was actually not bothered when Iroh carefully mentioned Mai in their conversation. She did frown a little when she heard he had already departed, however.

While Iroh brewed, Aang and Jin served the customers through the afternoon and evening. At the end of the day, when Iroh closed the front doors, Aang plopped unceremoniously onto one of the wooden chairs and removed his cap. Jin nearly dropped the plates she was carrying back to the kitchen and gawked.

"Why is the Avatar working in a tea shop?" she asked carefully.

Aang grinned sheepishly. "Uhh... keeping the balance?"

"He's keeping his own balance, Jin," Iroh added.

Jin nodded and continued into kitchen to clean up. Iroh sat down across from Aang as he noticed his smile slowly dissolve into a frown. Iroh waited patiently, leaning back in his chair and pretending to be interested in the ceiling.

"Did you hear some of those customers today, Iroh? Some of them were happily discussing how they'd love to drive out Fire Nation colonials, or better still have some Earth Kingdom colonies on the Fire Nation eastern islands. Some even rumored that many governing bodies in the western and southern reaches of the Kingdom want to become their own countries... they blame Kuei and Ba Sing Se for failing to defend them from invasion."

Aang irritably removed his gloves and tossed them onto the table. "Does it ever end? I thought that stopping Ozai would put an end to this, but it didn't. People still want to fight with old enemies and seem more than happy to make new ones. Stopping this terrible war was necessary, and I don't resent being the Avatar and being responsible for ending it, but these newer conflicts just seem... stupid and petty!"

Iroh reached forward and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. _So much a burden to bear, for one so young_. "Aang, one-hundred years of conflict cannot be ended with the removal of one man in one day, or even a hundred men in a hundred days. But what you have done has reversed the direction in which the world was moving. You and your friends spared it from careening off a cliff into assured self-destruction. Things are better now than they were before, take pride in that, but you must stay strong and continue your duty... eventually there will truly be peace."

"Does this mean it will take a hundred years of work for people to stop acting like idiots?"

Iroh laughed. "There will always be fools, Aang, but you are a remarkable young man, and not simply because you are the Avatar or the last airbender. For every fool, you will inspire hundreds of people by your example. I'm sure it will take less time than you think, and you'll find that the burden of healing the world is on everyone's shoulders, not just yours."

Aang looked up at the old general and smiled, he gray eyes brightening on his cherubic face. Jin walked back into the room, having finished cleaning up the kitchen, and hung her apron on a hook as she passed into the open dining area. She bowed slightly to the seated men and made for the front door.

"Do not be in such a rush, Miss Jin! I'm sure Aang here will be happy to escort you home on his bison, seeing as how we've kept you working so late this evening, and it is a long way to the lower ring. But first, some calming tea, perhaps?"


	2. Trailblazing

Chapter 2: Trailblazing

A single yellow leaf fell from the long wooden arms of a great oak, separated from its greener siblings by the landing of a heavy, adult screamadee. The bird's puffy head turned and twitched about as it observed a new feature carved into the lightly-wooded hills... a road. The road was far from smooth, however; it was more a chunky footpath of churned dirt and stone. The bird, utterly confused by this unnatural occurrence, reacted in the only way it new how. It opened its wide beak and let out an ear-shattering scream. This screech was cut short though, as a small stone immediately ricocheted off of the screamadee's perch, and it clapped its beak shut and flew off for fear of its life.

"Yeah, you better shut up!" yelled a small girl in a yellow and green tunic.

One of her two much larger companions raised his finger to the air. "The Boulder would have preferred if you hit that airborne menace directly, or buried it in a rock-a-lanche!"

The other man, happily chewing on some rocks, spit out, "Hippo happy with quiet."

"I just wanted it to go scream somewhere else, not hurt the dumb thing."

"What's this? Has the Blind Bandit got a soft spot for animals? The Boulder is amazed."

"I don't have a 'soft spot' for anything! Now are we ready to move again or what? Hippo, finish your uh... meal. I want to cover some more ground before we make camp, we're barely a few miles south of Serpent's Pass and we have a long way to Gaoling," she took a breath and added, "I can't believe I'm traveling with you two clowns."

Toph Bei Fong had intended on making this journey alone. She had already declined an offer from Aang to fly her on Appa, and an offer from Sokka and Katara to drop her off on their way home by boat, as Gaoling was not far from the southern seas. Evidently, the spirits insisted she had company.

_Full Moon Bay Ferry... where you run into people you'd least expect._

Still, perhaps it wasn't all bad. She didn't want to be lost in her own thoughts for the whole journey, and without them she may have been tempted to change her destination. The two wrestlers kept her moving forward, and they made for a good practical joke. She figured laughs will be in short supply once she arrived at her parents' home in Gaoling.

_Can't avoid this forever_, and so she launched southward again, Hippo and the Boulder in tow, all earthbending with their feet to form a rolling terranean sled to propel the group forwards at great speed. This method of travel was certainly faster than running, but just as exhausting. The fresh rut from Full Moon Bay continued southward.

"Gonna rain?" asked Hippo after many minutes of earth surfing, gesturing a chubby thumb towards a large shadow looming on the hills ahead.

The Boulder looked up. "Negatory! That shadow is not from a cloud!"

"What are you numb-skulls blabbering about?" asked Toph as she skidded to a stop.

"Looks like a Fire Nation war balloon," the Boulder explained, "and they're dropping bombs!"

The Boulder stomped down on one foot and swept a muscled arm across, lifting a shelf of rock high into the air and blocking the falling explosives. On contact, they detonated, spraying a fog of gas which began to cascade along the jagged edges of the raised stone. "The Boulder thinks we should move away from that smoke..."

"Then move!" shouted Toph. She slid the three sideways on a patch of grassy earth a good distance and started firing bolts of heavy clay randomly into the air with quick stomps and jabs. None of the projectiles connected with the balloon, however.

"I'm not even close, am I?" she asked.

"Hippo smash!" was her only response. The flabby giant swung a large earthen disc towards the small, drifting aircraft. Despite the flying attacker's attempts to shoot the round projectile down with fire, it connected with the fabric of the blimp, tore a significant hole, and the craft quickly descended to the ground. Toph grinned and pounded her fists into the ground, sending a ground-based shockwave towards the assailants attempting to free themselves from the wreckage. Then she brought her hands up quickly, turning palms upwards and fingers apart. A heavy stone cage formed around the crash, pillars jutting out with jagged edges, some dangerously close to gutting the people trapped inside. Still grinning, she took a step towards her captives, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"More incoming! See?"

"Hello, rock-for-brains?" Toph waved her hand in front of her milky jade eyes.

"Uh, right."

"What's the big deal? You and Hippo ground 'em, and I'll pound 'em!"

"It's smoky all over." The Hippo added from a few paces away. "Smells funny... I'm getting... sleepy..."

Toph frowned. She couldn't see airborne attackers, and they were using some kind of knockout gas to attack her. She could usually dodge projectiles if they originated from a grounded source, but a cloud of gas would roll right into her and she'd have no chance to avoid it. She flicked her heel into the dirt and submerged the collapsing Hippo into a sink-hole.

"Underground, now!"

* * *

The scent of seawater drifted into Sokka's nose as he leaned over the wooden bow of his father's ship. The young Water Tribe warrior was always comforted by being around his people's element, despite his inability to bend it. He could still sail in it, swim in it, fish in it. When he returns to the South Pole, he'll be able to build watch towers with it. Maybe, if he was really sneaky, he could even manage to hit his sister with a snowball, for old time's sake. Of course, he would instantly be the victim of a retaliation hundreds of times greater, but it would be worth a laugh. And then after he warmed up with some traditional Water Tribe food, eating as a family with his dad finally present, he'd have all he's ever wanted. _Yep, food, family, mad warrior skills... I'm set!_

"Everything okay, son?" Chief Hakoda leaned on the railing next to him, watching the horizon bob up and down slightly in the distance as the boat navigated the southern seas.

"Of course Dad. We won the war, we're going home together, we'll be given a hero's welcome... it'll be great!"

"Hmm." Hakoda observed his son's smile, and it matched his words, but his eyes betrayed something else.

"What? You don't believe me?"

Hakoda decided to change the subject. "What will you do after your hero's welcome, Sokka?"

"I don't know, help build up our village I guess. Live a normal, happy life."

"Doesn't sound like a very involved plan."

"Well, I really don't have much of a plan. I'm waiting for the next disaster to happen, that's always been my inspiration."

"You're worried about her." Hakoda stated matter-of-factly.

Sokka sighed. His father was annoyingly perceptive sometimes. "Suki is off doing dangerous things and I'm nowhere nearby to protect her."

Hakoda laughed a little at this. "Sokka, I saw that girl in action, if danger finds her she's more than capable of handling it. I'm sure she'll finish her mission for the Prince – er, Firelord – and you'll see each other again soon."

"I guess you're right."

"So, you'd best start working on some plans that don't require a disaster." He put a hand on his son's shoulder. "There will be plenty of people building up our village, son, including your sister. And frankly, it will be much faster if waterbenders do the construction."

"Are you saying I'm not needed?" Sokka almost whimpered the last word.

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course you're needed. I just think you wouldn't be satisfied building watch towers and fishing for a small village again. Call it instinct."

"I... should go where I'm needed the most. Is that what you're getting at? But I don't know where I'm needed now."

"You'll figure it – is that what I think it is?"

Sokka turned in the direction his father was staring. In the distance was unmistakably a Fire Nation frigate. He pulled a spyglass from his pocket for a better look.

"Yeah, it's a Fire Nation ship. Closing fast."

"Maybe they're delivering a message?"

"They could use a hawk for that," Sokka mumbled to himself. He looked at the bridge first, hoping for some kind of signal. Then he looked at the deck.

"Evasive action, evasive action!" Sokka hollered towards the helmsman at the rear of the ship. Moments after he began yelling and running aft, a volley of fireballs launched from the four deck-mounted trebuchets the Fire Nation craft used as primary weapons. The Water Tribesman at the helm reacted quickly and swung the ship hard to the left, leaving the volley of fire and stone to fall harmlessly into the ocean far to the starboard side of the ship. A few more warriors ran up from below deck, followed by a disheveled Katara.

"Sokka, what is going on? This better not be another one of your drills!"

"It's not! We have fireballs incoming!"

* * *

Katara wasted no time. Taking a stance in the middle of the deck, she thrust her hands outwards and pulled the sea up and around the ship, forming a spherical barrier of rushing currents. The next volley may have scored one hit, but the projectile was snuffed out and the stone pushed aside.

"Katara, that's some impressive defense but you're also blocking the wind, and those guys are getting close enough as it is!"

Frowning but acknowledging her brother's sense of combat strategy, she dropped the shield and rode one trail of water back into the ocean, converting some of it into a board of ice on the way down.

"Katara, what are you doing?" Hakoda yelled over the side of the ship.

"They want a fight, I'm going to give it to them." And she shot off across the water towards the iron ship, shooting down fireballs that passed over her.

As she drew closer to the frigate, firebenders on the deck began blasting fire at her from their palms, but none were able to reach her with so much bending material at her fingertips. She smiled inwardly, _they picked the wrong ship to attack today, some people just don't know when to quit._ As soon as she was within range, she cast dozens of frozen globs of water skyward to rain onto the firebenders shooting at her from the railings above. Then she launched herself high into the air, arms covered in tentacles of water, straight up at the bridge of the ship. With a flick of the wrist, she brought a whip of water forward in a quick lash, carved an opening into the glass of the bridge window, and dove through.

She expected to seize the captain and get some answers, maybe knock some sense into him. Maybe it was a misunderstanding, a scout vessel that's been out of contact. What she didn't expect was the bridge to be inhabited by only the man at the helm, and his combat ability was quickly put on display when he screamed and ran out the door in the back of the room.

Katara used the water extending from her arms to slash the helm controls into unusable metal shrapnel, and turned to follow the squealing man into the corridor. The ship lurched somewhat, its heading locked into a slight turn. They wouldn't be able to pursue her people until repairs were made. But someone had to answer for this.

The waterbending master stormed through corridors, rooms, and bulkheads, searching for someone bearing some indication of leadership. She brought down firebenders, men armed with spears and swords, even a muscled engineer, but no captain.

Soon she found herself level with the open deck of the ship, running out a pair of wide doors and onto the forward platform where trebuchets were still launching fireballs into the distance. The design was familiar, and she considered the captain could be below decks, hiding like a coward. She decided to first take care of the weapons on deck, in case they scored a lucky hit at extreme range.

The first structure collapsed quickly with a few sharp whips of water, before the crew manning them noticed they were under direct attack. One turned and hurled a hammer at her, which she sidestepped quickly, converting the dodge into a spin and then a countering blast of super-cooled water, freezing the man to the remains of the weapon he was responsible for.

She noticed a firebender standing in the middle of the launchers, smiling before he shot an open-palmed jet of flame at her. Katara reached into the ocean and drew a wall of water to stop the attack. The flame dissipated harmlessly, but the firebender's smile remained unchanged.

She took a step forward to wipe it off his face, but felt a numbness in her legs. A glance downwards to inspect the stubborn limbs revealed a strange dart embedded in her hip. It was metallic, finned... her legs went from numb to unresponsive, and consciousness left her.

* * *

The wagon jumped as it rolled over another uneven dip in the road. Toph crossed her arms and groaned as each jostling sent her bouncing against the pile of cabbages she was uncomfortably half-buried in. The Hippo was loudly snoring, face-down in the heap, and The Boulder was fidgeting and cracking various joints. Thankfully all their noises were easily drowned out by the steady beating of ostrich-horse claws pulling the wagon they were stowing away in.

"This sucks," said the small girl.

"Affirmative."

"I can't see what's going on sitting in a cart."

"The Boulder was getting tired of tunneling underground... that's the Moleman's mode of operation."

"Whatever, as long as this thing is heading south. I guess the earth-sledding made us too easy to spot."

The Boulder grunted. The Hippo snored. Toph scowled. They had been riding in this thing for hours, if the angle of the sun-heat touching her face was any indication. As soon as she got to the next town, she'd find a way to send a message to Aang regarding the balloon attack. Unfortunately, she had no idea where the next town might be; all she knew was that she was somewhere northeast of Omashu, northwest of the Si Wong Desert, and still had a good way to go until Gaoling. At best speed, minimal breaks and no more attacks, she figured another ten days at least. Perhaps if she hired some sandbenders, she could have them transport her on a sandsailer and shave some time off the trip along the western edge of the desert. She no longer felt inclined to procrastinate.

* * *

A pair of blue eyes blinked through the magnification provided by a glass lens. Sokka ground his teeth as he watched his sister drop unconscious on the deck of the fire nation ship, although she seemed unharmed. The firebenders attack was clearly deflected, but he had no time to ponder that as his father's ship turned back towards the attacking vessel.

"I can't believe she just took off like that," Hakoda said, his jaw set and his brow furrowed.

Sokka just turned and cocked an eyebrow.

"Okay, I can completely believe she took off like that; she is her mother's daughter."

"Normally I might have let her use her magic water to tear that ship to pieces, but it looks like she needs help this time. She must have damaged the helm controls," he gestured towards the enemy craft, "see, the ship is stuck in a turn. If we use our borrowed toy, we could launch some tangle-mines directly into the path of the ship, get close enough to board and rescue, and then get the heck out of here."

Sokka's quickly hashed plan was put into effect. Using a stolen and modified Fire Nation ballista, several 'stink-and-sink' mines were launched directly into the path of the iron vessel. Fireballs were returned in kind, but the Water Tribe ship was able to avoid the shots by coming in at a hard angle.

Soon they were behind the frigate, foul gas disorienting it's crew, and the tribesmen boarded with starfish masks to filter out the smell. Sokka reached behind his shoulder to draw his sword, but grasped at empty air. He growled and reached lower for his boomerang and growled again. Finally remembering his current weapon was a simple club at his hip, he brought it to wield.

The nearest enemy was a charging at him with a spear, but his eyes were watering and he looked ill. Sokka slapped the business end of the spear away, allowed the soldier to stride past until they were shoulder to shoulder, and cracked him in the back of his helmet. There was a dull, metallic clang, and the soldier dropped with a sigh. The young warrior did not spare a moment to savor the sound.

Hakoda spotted her first: two men dragged her towards a set of stairs leading below deck. While his father tackled the swordsman holding her right arm, the firebender, which he guessed was the captain, dropped her left arm and assumed a stance. Sokka saw the firebender gagging and barely keeping his stomach under control, let alone his breathing, but he didn't want to take any chance his father might get shot in the back. Hurling the club as hard as he could, he sent it flipping through the air and crashing directly into the man's gut. He doubled over and vomited on the deck, and then slipped in his own vomit. His father was already lifting Katara onto his shoulders.

"Let's get out of here before they recover," Hakoda yelled and started sprinting back towards their own ship.

A glint of metal caught Sokka's eye. It looked like a fishing lure, sort of. He scooped it up and followed his father and the rest of the Water Tribe warriors back to their own ship.


	3. Burnt at the Edges

Chapter 3: Burnt at the Edges

Even without the influence of a firebender on the throne, the edge of the dias still glowed brightly. Occasional tongues of flame spat out from a recessed groove, fueled by a slow-burning mixture of substances Mai could only hope to guess at – incendiaries were not her forte. The raven-haired woman absent-mindedly twirled a knife in her hand and gazed about the royal hall from her vantage point on Zuko's seat.

_ Zuko's seat... Fire Lord Zuko's throne. _She allowed herself a small smile.

How unlikely this had all seemed a few months ago. Last winter, Zuko was still just a bittersweet memory, one she carefully buried deeply away. In the spring, he was allegedly a target for her, a fugitive to be brought in for disgracing his nation.

And then there was the madness of the past summer: their trip home on Azula's ship, their dates in the capital, Ember Island, the eclipse and that damned letter, Boiling Rock, his coronation... and now she found herself in a room she never imagined seeing the inside of, slouching on the throne in a manner that was completely lacking in noble posture or lady-like poise. Her mother would faint if she saw her now, and her father might even do the same.

She wondered what autumn would bring and her smile broadened slightly. Despite herself, a short burst of laughter escaped her lips and echoed between the pillars fading into darkness.

"Oh Mai, was that you? It must be awfully funny!"

Mai immediately snapped out of her slouch and her reverie, her posture rail-straight. She composed herself in the blink of an eye and returned the twirling blade to concealment in her sleeve as she tried to trace the origin of the voice. She focused on the nearest pillar to her right.

"Ty, come out of there. You know I don't like you sneaking up on me like that. You're lucky I didn't pin you to that pillar... or worse."

"I wasn't next to the pillar."

Ty Lee's voice was suddenly very close and to Mai's left. Mai slowly turned to face her friend with a scowl and was met with a broad smile outlined in red lipstick and framed by white face-paint.

"I knew that."

Ty Lee pouted. "Really? I thought for sure I caught you off guard. I figure if I can sneak up on you," Ty Lee made a walking motion with her gloved fingers, "then I definitely won't make a mistake tailing those creepy old guys for Zuko. Guess I'll just have to keep trying..."

Mai let out a sigh. "Okay, you got me. I don't know how you did it with that ridiculous armor on, but you got me."

"I knew it!" Ty Lee beamed again. "You know, once you get used to the armor, it isn't so bad. And then when you take it off, the world seems so much lighter! I swear I can jump twice as high as before! So anyway, what was so funny?"

Mai couldn't help but feel a slight rush of heat crawl onto her face. She wondered how long Ty Lee had been watching her.

"Nothing, just thinking about things."

"Well, your aura was almost pink you know, so it must have been pretty good." Ty Lee glanced around for a moment, and although it seemed impossible, her smile widened even more.

"I don't believe in auras Ty Lee... what?"

"You were thinking about Zuko, weren't you?"

"No! Okay, yes. So what?"

"You have some sweet memories in here? Maybe right on that thro-"

"Ty Lee!" Mai bolted upright, the dim light in the room failing to disguise her tinged cheeks. She half-expected the flames to burst up around her. "That would be... inappropriate. Very... wipe that smirk off your face!"

"I'm not hearing a 'no'..." Ty Lee made no effort to disguise her enjoyment.

"You're such a... Zuko and I... that's none of your business." Mai concluded finally. "This is the first time I've even been in this room anyway. I was bored. Can we talk about something else or did you come only to tease me?"

Ty Lee's smile vanished quickly. Mai felt a pang of guilt but wasn't about to apologize just yet, at least not directly. She hadn't seen her friend in weeks, not since Zuko's coronation. Ty Lee seemed to be suddenly preoccupied, uncharacteristically lost in thought. Perhaps she hadn't offended the acrobat after all.

"It's good to see you again, Ty. Things are just so busy lately."

"I know. Actually, I came here looking for Zuko. I have a report for him." Ty Lee's smile had yet to return. She brought a scroll out of her sleeve and Mai winced wondering what unpleasant things the Kyoshi warriors had discovered on their covert missions in the capital city. If it was enough to dampen Ty Lee's spirits, it could not be good news.

"Zuko is away on other business, he asked me to kind of hold down the fort for him for a couple days. May I?"

Ty Lee handed the scroll over, and Mai opened it slowly. As she silently scanned the text, Ty Lee watched her friend's aura drop its last shreds of pink in favor of more gray, and periodically flare in bursts of rusty red. At last, Mai rolled the scroll back up and tucked it into her own tunic.

"Are these men all still in the capital?"

"Last we checked. I'm sorry we didn't get anything solid, just suspicious behavior, and all five met together a couple times. They were careful; we couldn't get much of their conversation."

"You did fine, this is a good start." Mai scanned the names again. "Qin is no surprise, his entire career was based around the war... Shinu I don't know much of, but his men... Mung lead the domestic forces... Bujing is just plain scum... Chan might take a piece of the eastern fleet..."

Mai looked back up at her friend. "Didn't we trash his beach house?"

Ty Lee shuffled her feet. "Yeah, we did. Zuko already paid for the damages out of the royal treasury though. He seemed grateful."

"Apparently not," Mai sighed. "Zuko will be back in two days. I technically don't have any authority right now, so we'll have to wait until he gets back before we can arrest them. Unless they do something like attack the palace."

The cloth draping the doorway to the throne room parted, and Suki strode in quickly. She looked very angry, and her footfalls were anything but quiet.

"Don't worry about arrests or attacks here ladies, Qin and his dinner guests gave us the slip. By the time we found out the War Minister's estate had an escape tunnel that lead directly to the royal docks, they had already taken Azula's ship."

* * *

Zuko stared blankly ahead as he crossed an open, grassy courtyard, flanked by an aging man clad in muted burgundy robes and bound by a wide white sash. Several other men and women sat, stood, or strolled nearby in similar garb, and some of those were clearly chaperoning other people outside. These wards were all wearing a dull yellow robe, but the outward similarities ended there. Some looked around nervously, some stared at the ground or the sky, some muttered, some howled, and some were simply silent.

They were all broken people.

The Tomo Facility, colloquially known as the 'Burnout Spa', was originally conceived by a more compassionate fire sage during the reign of Azulon, Zuko's late grandfather. It was built near the north-eastern tip of the Fire Nation mainland, not far from Ember Island. The original intent of the special hospital was to refresh and rehabilitate valuable officers who snapped in the line of duty for whatever reason, so that they could be used in battle again.

Over time, however, being sent here was considered a disgrace, and many soldiers and officers who were already on the brink of madness took their own lives before they could be treated.

Eventually, the facility was turned over for public use, but that also came with a considerable cut to the budget. Zuko was certain that his father would have reduced the cluster of buildings to ashes if he knew even one copper piece was being spent on healing the weak-minded.

The old man lead him to the end of the courtyard and through a set of doors which opened into a long hall. The hall was narrow and lit only by traces of sunlight spilling through narrow slits cut high into the yellow sandstone walls. Many doors were dotted along the lower half of both these walls, presumably each leading to one of the private rooms of the guests here. The old man trod forward and beckoned the young Fire Lord along.

The hallway eventually came to an intersection, and his guide stopped to read a plaque on the wall which indicated ranges of numbers. No matter how many euphemisms Zuko conjured in his thoughts, he could not dispel the knowledge that this place was just another prison, albeit one with more comfort than most.

_I was justified sending her here... almost sent her somewhere worse. What am I doing here? _Azula was crazy and homicidal, after all. A menace best left forgotten. And yet here he was.

"Room one-three-seven, according to records, Lord Zuko. That will be to the left here, and on the left side of the hall, nearly at the end."

Zuko nodded and decided he wanted some idea of what to expect.

"Anything else in her records you think I should know?"

The old man drew a scroll from a bundle at his belt and began reading as if reciting a list of groceries. "Patient admitted in a state of extreme duress. Behavior was erratic and extremely violent. Use of anti-firebending restraints authorized. Patient refused nourishment. Treatment-"

"Treatment?! Restraints and she's starving? Is she still like this? Why was I not notified sooner?"

The caretaker looked momentarily stunned, an expression Zuko mirrored briefly, but it quickly subsided. Certainly the healer was familiar with lapses in self-control.

"Lord Zuko, your sister's behavior is nothing we have not seen before. Unfortunately, this is combined with an extremely powerful firebending talent. Our actions were standard procedure. None of the staff here would contact you unless she got worse than when she came in."

"And how is she now?"

"Absolutely quiet, hardly moves, but doesn't resist being fed. She's in a trance-like state that I've also seen many times before, locked in her own mind. This will sometimes happen when someone's core beliefs are shattered as hers have been."

"Are you saying she has lost her old beliefs?"

"Not necessarily. She's re-evaluating them, most likely, although the process is certainly not as you or I would imagine it. She'll eventually decide to either irrationally cling to her old beliefs, inserting fantasy where necessary, or she'll build something new. She may flip between her old and new self. She may never come to any conclusion at all, entranced until her last day. It's really a bit early to tell."

Zuko's lordly posture collapsed. He nodded and turned into the left hall, his eyes keeping left to read the numbers on the doors. After a few minutes of numb walking, he came across a heavy iron door with the number '137' painted neatly on it. Zuko gathered himself up and knocked quietly, then he pinched the bridge of his nose and laughed softly. _Still trying to convince myself this is some kind of resort._ Perhaps his sister would somehow appreciate the gesture, but he doubted it. With a deep breath, he gently opened the door.

The room was stark, simple, but somehow cheerier than he expected. To his left was a small basin for water, and a vine-like plant hung in the corner. To his right, he could only see the corner of a bed, the rest obscured by the door he had opened. There was a single, narrow, vertical rectangle in the back wall that served as a window into the courtyard, allowing a soft light to wade into the room.

The walls here too were the same faded yellow of the rest of the building and the patient robes. Zuko felt it was a calming color, and suddenly wondered if strolling in here with his royal shades of red, gold, and black would agitate his younger sibling.

Then again, he expected his presence to do that all by itself.

Peering around the door as he closed it, he saw Princess Azula curled up at the head of the bed, her back against the wall and eyes staring at the window, or perhaps nothing at all. She was wearing yellow robes, as expected, and held her knees together, pulled close to the chest. Her hands and feet were wrapped and bound together in a grayish fabric, and this same fabric was wrapped around metal mittens. This was a common restraint for firebenders, as there was not enough air in the mittens to sustain any significant flame, and they were sealed with a kind of waxy resin. They prevented escape and self-injury.

Zuko noted with mixed feelings that she was not gagged, which meant that she could talk but also that she could breathe fire at him. He supposed that this made some sense as fire-breathing lacked the concussive force to blast through walls and iron doors, and a gag would certainly not be of any help in calming someone down. He also knew that even if Azula managed to get out of this room, most of the burgundy-robed workers doubled as guards, and if that wasn't enough the entire facility was circled by a high wall and more guards. The security seemed sufficient to stop any escape attempts, but Zuko knew that if Azula's mind were in the right place, she could probably figure a way out of any prison.

"Azula?"

The Princess did not respond or even acknowledge his presence. She looked so different without her armor, her makeup, her perfectly arranged hair.

"Azula, it's me. I, uh... wanted to talk."

Still nothing. Zuko clenched and unclenched his fists before deciding to step into her field of vision.

"Azula, can you hear me?"

This time, the girl blinked once and seemed to tilt her head slightly. Recognition poured over and darkened her face. Still, she said nothing. At this point, Zuko might have preferred she spit fire at him, just for some kind of communication.

"Look, you're probably wondering why I'm here, and why you're here. I guess I don't really know myself. Several people suggested you be sent to Boiling Rock. Others had more severe suggestions."

A blink. Zuko was becoming frustrated now. He wasn't sure if his sister was tormenting him again or if she had just gone mute, as the old man suggested.

"Don't you have anything to say? When we were kids, you teased me endlessly. When father took the throne, you shunned me. You lied to me all the time. I can forgive those things, I think. But you tried to kill me, multiple times. You tried to kill Uncle. Even when I was trying to let go and find some semblance of peace in Ba Sing Se, you hunted me down, determined to have me hauled away to rot in the Spiral Tower. At the Western Air Temple, you said you wanted to 'celebrate being an only child'. Is that what you've wanted all along?"

A slower blink. A slight twitch in her lip.

"After our Agni Kai, I had dreams. Mother came to me, told me she was heart-broken that her children were fighting. She made me promise to help you get better. I don't know why I'm doing it, but I do think it's what she would want for you. She'd want you to have a chance at-"

"Shut up." The words came out of her mouth, slowly, mechanically.

"What did you say?"

"Shut up, Zuko."

He expected to hear 'Zuzu' at the end, and wasn't sure why the fact that he did not made him actually feel worse.

"Why?" was all he could muster as a response.

"Mother didn't care about me, don't lie to me."

"What? Don't be stupid, of course she did."

Her voice was still dull, mechanical. "Mother didn't care, you don't care, Mai and Ty Lee don't care... even Father... go away Zuko."

Zuko looked at his sister carefully. He expected her to lunge at him at any moment, yet she did not. The cold and calculating expression always in her eyes was gone, replaced by a despondent gaze. Something in his conscience urged him to feel empathy for his sister. He remembered the same feeling when he thought she was going to fall to her death, or when she was chained to that grate and crying her eyes out, or even at the beach when she actually looked... vulnerable.

"No."

"No?" Azula asked.

"I'm not going away, not right now."

"Aren't you afraid of me?"

Zuko at first thought this was a threat, but the way she said it almost sounded... pleading.

"No."

"You should be. All those terrible things you said I did, I might do more." Azula looked like she was attempting to slip back into her familiar seat of power, but the impression was lost with her curled up as she was.

"You agree they were terrible then?"

"I didn't say that. I regret nothing. I did my divine duty. I was following the will of the Fire Lord."

"I'm Fire Lord now."

"I would never follow your will, traitor."

"I'm not a traitor!"

Zuko thought for a moment while his sister smirked. This was going to be complicated, probably dangerous. Yet this was probably the longest one on one conversation he ever had with his younger sibling.

"So, you weren't following the will of the Fire Lord, you were following the will of our Father," Zuko said.

"What's the difference?"

"Motivations. You wanted the same thing I wanted, Father's love."

"I'm nothing like you, I always had his love."

"Had?"

Azula winced. Zuko waited patiently. Azula seemed to draw back into her trance and stared at her knees. After a long silence, she looked up again.

"You're getting pretty good at this."

"Good at what?" Zuko asked.

"Manipulating people."

"I'm not trying to manipulate you Azula."

"Then what are you doing? Keeping a promise to a dream?" She laughed derisively.

"I don't know." It was an honest answer.

"Didn't I tell you to go away? If you're worried about me escaping, don't be. There's no point any more, no point in doing anything. I spent years at the Academy and hours of my own time, training to be the perfect Princess, the perfect daughter. I did everything I was supposed to and I still wasn't good enough, I still failed. I would have preferred you executed me, it's what I would have done."

Zuko stared at his sister, his mouth hung open slightly, completely dumbstruck. Never, ever, had she admitted failure. She never sounded so defeated. Zuko was suddenly concerned that she might kill herself. She could easily set fire to her bed at night and just let it burn her to ashes. Then again, this could all be a very elaborate play on his emotions. Azula could be looking for weaknesses as she often did, gathering information so she could strike and cause the most damage. She was a talented liar, after all. Still, she had never gone so far as to be self-deprecating in her lies, it was against her nature.

"Azula, I spent 3 years of my life at sea, constantly searching and training in hopes I'd find the Avatar and restore Father's faith in me. But he never expected the Avatar to resurface, he just wanted me gone. People are just tools to him, even his children. When have you ever done something of your own accord?"

His sister was back to only blinking in response. Zuko was not sure if she was still with him or not. He continued anyway, pulling on some of his Uncle's words from not so long ago.

"You have to look inward and ask yourself: Who are you, and what do you want?"

Azula blinked again, lucidity returning to her. She smiled, but there was no mirth in it, only a familiar sadistic cruelty. Zuko mentally prepared himself for an attack but it came only in the form of more monotone words.

"I am Princess Azula, rightful heir to the throne of the Fire Nation, daughter of Phoenix King Ozai, and prisoner of Zuko the Betrayer. I want you to go away."

Zuko's patience dried up. He was tired of her insults and her stubbornness. _Maybe I should just execute her, it would be so much... simpler._ He shook his head.

Perhaps he'd call her a monster, tell her no one will ever love her, and laugh mockingly. He was certain that was what she deserved, but he was also certain his dreams would become nightmares of guilt.

Instead he decided to just leave, as she repeatedly requested. This had been a waste of time.


	4. Worries and Suspicions

Chapter 4: Worries and Suspicions

"I thought we agreed that we would table the issue of the colonies until the Fire Lord returned to Ba Sing Se?" said Aang, half aloud and half to himself. He rested his chin on one of his palms while he stretched the darkened skin under his eyes with his fingers.

This was exhausting. Needlessly exhausting. The men and women seated around the table represented the various regions of the Earth Kingdom. They were all supposed to be kin, on the same side... this meeting was _supposed_ to be smooth. Aang expected this squabbling when Fire Nation ambassadors were present, but he quickly began to theorize that all so-called diplomats argued just for the sake of arguing, as if the purpose of their career was to just verbally ram into each other until one opponent hemorrhaged a concession.

General Sung seemed to have heard the Avatar speak. "With all due respect, Avatar, the purpose of this meeting was to discuss the recovery of the Earth Kingdom, and the Fire Nation colonies to the west are certainly something to be recovered."

"Yes, that is true," General Fong added with a fist rapping against the table, "we must have our land returned to us, immediately."

Aang disliked both of these men. Sung was an irritating mixture of arrogance, cowardice, and stupidity. He was charged with preventing any breach past the outer wall of Ba Sing Se during the war, and Aang believed he was only successful for so long due to the sheer enormity of the barrier. He shuddered to think what that drill would have done if he had not been there with his friends.

Fong was even worse, as he had threatened Katara in order to trigger his Avatar State. His plan was to somehow use Aang as a super-weapon, perhaps have him roll forward in blind rage and destroy the Fire Nation lands with earthquakes and massive tidal waves. Yet both were highly respected generals, members of the Council of Five.

Aang sighed. "I'll agree that the colonies will need to be taken care of, but we're also talking about Fire Nation citizens. We can't come up with a peaceful plan to handle that without Zu – the Fire Lord's input."

Now General Hao spoke up. "The Avatar is correct, we should focus on other matters: lost Earth Kingdom troops, getting the refugees in Ba Sing Se home safely, and-"

"Oh, I'm sure you are eager to clear refugees out of _your_ city, Hao." A wiry woman spoke now, although Aang could only remember she was the appointed speaker for the southern coastal areas, which included the villages of Chin, Gaoling, and Nan Shan.

She was dressed in a simple gray tunic to match her gray hair wrapped tightly in a bun. In fact, everything about her seemed gray. Her eyes were a splashed only slightly with blue, and her skin had an almost metallic pallor. She looked ill, but her voice betrayed no frailty of any kind.

"It seems to me," she continued, "that you are interested only in sweeping up your own house. The farther away from Ba Sing Se, the less you are concerned."

Hao rose from his seat and scowled at the woman. "I do not appreciate your tone, madam. I have been charged with acting as ruler in the absence of King Kuei, and I assure you that my concerns are for the entire Earth Kingdom."

"Kuei's concerns didn't extend beyond his palace, how are we to expect you to be any different?" spoke an aging man, Pan, who had originally brought up the colonies.

"Long Feng and the Dai Li..." Hao began.

"The Dai Li?" The woman broke in again. "The Dai Li are a perfect example of Ba Sing Se's failure. Corruption in the extreme. At least King Bumi acted to defend his people... eventually."

King Bumi, who had his head down resting on folded arms upon the table, suddenly jolted to attention and snorted at the mention of his name. Some of the people present wore expressions of annoyance or disappointment, others merely accepted this as normal. Aang almost laughed out loud. Bumi was one of the few in this meeting that made it tolerable. He knew Bumi was listening intently to every word said and by whom; he seemed to enjoy feigning senility all the while. He also had a knack for inserting wisdom, though rare, at precisely the right moments. This, however, was not one of those moments.

"I'm hungry, can't you old gas-bags wrap this up?" He followed his comments up with a snort and laughter. Looking around and noticing his humor was lost on his audience, he set his head back down on the table.

Another gentleman, adorned in browns embroidered with gold and silver trimmings, suddenly cleared his throat. Eyes turned on him, taking in his clean shave, square jaw, and slim build. His hair was black and cropped short, with a tail in the back.

Aang liked this man, Fuyu. He was quiet, orderly, and peaceful. He was not particularly helpful, but he did not add to the noise either. He was a wealthy merchant from the western reaches of the Earth Kingdom, and also acted as governor of the port village known as Merchant's Pier. Unfortunately, it looks like he was just biding his time before speaking, or perhaps letting the other goats tire themselves a bit.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe I have a suggestion that will work to solve our issues quickly. It may sound a bit radical to some of you, but I implore you all to give my proposition due consideration."

The squabbling seemed to die down and attention focused on Fuyu. After a pause, he continued.

"Let us lay down some facts. The majority of the Fire Nation colonies are in the lands west of Trade Canals. The leadership of our Kingdom is currently absent and unaccounted for, and while the good General makes his best efforts to find our King, many people feel our Kingdom has been usurped by the military. Still more would be no happier even if Kuei returned. Madam Dian raises a good point... Ba Sing Se is perhaps more adept at watching its own than it can the lands to the south and west. As Pan and Fong stress, the colonies threaten to become an incident we cannot afford to have right now."

Hao bristled at this, and Aang put his hand on the General's arm. He felt some measure of pity for the Council leader, having his best efforts thrown back in his face, but something about Fuyu's speech compelled him to prevent any outbursts until the Governor was finished with his proposal. Hao sat down, slowly.

"Get to the point, Fuyu."

"Of course. I have with me a petition signed by many hundreds of people. People from my town, Makapu, Mo Ce, Chitaku, and Koima, including the signatures of the local government representatives. I also have the same from Fire Nation colonials... Gaipan, the town now known as Dragon's Tongue, Pohuai."

"Petition for what, exactly?" asked Sung as he leaned forward.

"A petition to... de-centralize some of the Earth Kingdom's management."

"You mean to break away from the Kingdom!" Hao was standing again, furious.

"Heavens no sir, please, let me finish. The population of the lands I speak of is almost half Fire Nation citizens. These citizens do not want to be moved, and this will inevitably lead to conflict. However, during the war, the colonies paid taxes and delivered goods back to the Fire Nation at an exorbitant rate. If we offer them a much more appealing deal, they will be willing to become part of the Earth Kingdom and we'll gain the fruits of their labor."

The room fell silent for a moment as the ring of people processed this. It didn't take long for Pan to interject.

"Fuyu, why didn't you discuss this with me? We both represent the areas you mention. How is this supposed to work, exactly?"

"The colonials believe they will not receive fair treatment by the Earth Kingdom without representation, something they also lacked in the Fire Nation capital. Therefore, my plan involves a joint project: the restoration of the city of Taku."

"Taku?"

"Yes, the first great city destroyed by the Fire Nation. The colonies will fund and rebuild it, in return they wish the capital to become a seat of power, where a council consisting of Fire and Earth citizens make governing decisions to the benefit of all the western lands. Of course, this city-state, like Omashu, would still answer to Kuei and Ba Sing Se. It should appease the colonials and the local merchants, provide an opportunity for our people to reconcile with each other, and take some pressure off the capital."

Aang's ears pricked up at this. He noticed Bumi was looking up as well. Suddenly some of the rumors he had been hearing sounded more credible. He loved the idea of earthbenders and firebenders working together to rebuild a city, of washing away so many problems with one bold idea, but he had a sinking feeling this would not so much "relieve pressure" as deepen the rift forming between the capital and its constituents.

Fuyu was correct, Taku had once been a stronghold like Omashu and controlled the west as Omashu controlled the south. Both were arms of Ba Sing Se. Aang was not so sure if it was wise to empower either of these arms when they were likely to strike at the head. He was sure Bumi would take care of things in Omashu, but he was uneasy about the resurrection of Taku.

Still, he remembered the city as it was one-hundred years ago. Would not this just be one step in bringing the world back to balance, back to the way things were before the war?

"Fuyu," Hao spoke now, calmly, "who would be the head of Taku? What if the Fire Lord objects? Can we verify the authenticity of these signatures even? This is a massive undertaking..."

"I assure you, General, this has been drafted in great detail and I already have the support of the locals, I just need the support of this room. I'll be happy to send you all the copies of the documented plans, and the petition with signet marks. The head of Taku would be elected by elders from the colonies and villages participating. The Fire Lord has already expressed in previous meetings that his concern is for the safety of his people above all else. They will remain Fire Nation citizens, keep their homes, but work for us. It's win-win. I urge you all to think on this."

"Hmmmmmmmm..." Bumi just stared at the merchant while humming this pondering sound for a while. Finally he stopped and took a breath.

"Sounds like a good idea to me!" The ancient King snorted. Aang mentally raised an eyebrow but merely nodded to no one in particular.

Hao surrendered his point. "Very well Fuyu, provide us with your details and we'll reconvene tomorrow."

* * *

Katara felt warm. Warm and sweaty. Warm, sweaty, and nauseous. When she opened her eyes, she became aware of a throbbing headache to add to her list of sensations. Even the dim light of her small room on her father's ship seemed to scorch her eyes mercilessly. Now aware of where she was, she realized she did not remember going to bed. _Ah, that ship... that firebender._

"Oh thank you, you're awake. I was not looking forward to feeding you. How are you feeling?" asked her brother, ending softly. She startled a bit and winced at the tingling pain she felt from the sudden movement, however subtle. The water tribe girl turned towards Sokka, who was sitting on a chair next to the bed, holding a bowl and a spoon. He set the bowl on a small table and rested his hands on his knees.

"Uh, okay I think. Kinda queasy, and it feels like I'm rolling on boarqupine needles when I move. That firebender must have got me pretty bad... am I burned?"

Sokka frowned. "Not on the outside, that firebender hit you with this thing."

He held up a strange silvery dart, about the length and thickness of his index finger. It had grooves and fins.

"What is it?"

"A diabolical Fire Nation weapon. From what I can tell, it's designed to be launched by a firebender. The capsule inside is insulated; the metal outside can take a lot of heat. The shape lets it shoot right through water with ease. Heck, I think it would even go through a good amount of ice if it was hot enough. I bet you didn't even see it coming, it would just ride on a jet of flame, invisible. This thing is designed specifically to take out waterbenders."

While Sokka described his theory on the device, he had put on a scholarly tone, but at the end of his explanation, his face turned dark.

"How long was I out?"

"A day; we should be home tomorrow. Dad and I got you out and made sure that ship was dead in the water. You're lucky Katara, lucky they were looking to take a prisoner. That dart could have been filled with a lethal poison. Why the hell did you just blast off like that without any backup?"

Katara furrowed her brow.

"Sokka, I'm the only waterbender on this ship. I thought I could handle it quickly before those fireballs took everyone out!"

Sokka's hands were gripping his knees tightly, the knuckles turning almost white under the tension. His shoulders slouched as if betraying the emotions of his hands.

"If you wanted to handle it quickly, you could have surfed over, dove, waterbending-sliced the propellers, and came back. Instead you jumped into the bridge and went on a rampage." He threw his hands in the air, and made a poor impression of smashing waterbending moves.

"It was not a rampage! I was looking for the captain!"

"Why?"

"So I could tell him the war was over, since he obviously didn't know!"

"Oh, and I bet he would have just been like 'Oh alrighty young lady, thanks for the information, have a good day and sorry for the fireballs and whatnot!'" Sokka quoted in a voice that sounded similar to his Wang Fire persona.

"Well, someone had to tell him, what were_ you_ going to do?"

"I'm the idea guy, remember? I would have thought of something if you waited just a minute. You could have accelerated the ship, shot down the fireballs directly, or created a minefield of icebergs. Anything that didn't put your life in danger without someone watching your back! We could've sent a message in a bottle or something!"

"I can handle myself in a fight Sokka." Katara controlled her yelling now, the noise was exacerbating her headache.

"Not this time, Sister," his voice dropped as well as his head, "not this time."

He took a breath and looked up, "You know, ever since Sozin's Comet passed, I realized just how fortunate we've been in this war. Taking out Ozai's airship fleet was such a close call. First, I thought Suki was going to crash to the ground on a smoldering half-blimp. Then, I thought I was going to get barbecued by a squad of firebenders and Toph was going to fall to her death holding onto my arm burned off at the shoulder-"

"Sokka! Don't talk like that... it's not like you."

Sokka snapped out of his morbid tirade and sighed, "Sorry, it's just that it made me realize that we took huge risks and could have lost a lot. Now the war is supposed to be over, we shouldn't press our luck... we should be more careful. The end of the world is not at stake any more. I don't want to lose any more of my family or anyone else I care about."

Katara felt tears well up in her eyes. She rarely saw her brother like this and she hated it. She wanted his dumb jokes and his whiny sarcasm back. He'd been doing nothing but worrying since they left Ba Sing Se. Slowly, she scooted to the end of her bunk and reached out to wrap her brother in a hug. Sokka seemed to relax a bit.

"Katara?"

"Yes?"

"You smell like a wet wolfbat."

* * *

Truly blind for the second time this week, Toph lay flat on her back on a polished platform of wood. Sand and wind rushed across her cheeks in intermittent gusts, the grains providing brief sparks of vision, though it manifested as little more than what one would see if staring up into a blizzard.

She was glad her idea to have sandbenders give her a ride south worked out. After being discovered in the cabbage cart by a very irate merchant, she and her large companions quickly took off and found themselves close enough to the western edge of the desert to close the distance on foot. Upon arriving at a border inn, a few sandbenders there were more than happy to earn the coin the three travelers were willing to offer, and their travel time to the Misty Palms Oasis would be far shorter than she had estimated. When powered by four sandbenders, this particular sandsailer was faster than an ostrich-horse by a wide margin.

The Boulder and The Hippo sat nearby, carving marks into a slab of stone with their fingers – some kind of earthbending game they were gambling with. Toph had been interested in playing until she numbly realized she could not read the symbols, even though she could 'see' them carved into the stone. The young girl had considered the idea of learning the common alphabet through carvings before, but figured it would be of limited use in a world where most things were written on paper. Her pride would not allow asking for a lesson either. So she just daydreamed and picked her toes.

Eventually they arrived at the Misty Palms and paid their fare for transport. The place had changed little since she and her friends had been there last. Same old blobs that passed for buildings, same mix of shady and shadier people.

The natural ice springs seemed to have receded even more. Toph had no idea how that thing even existed and could not care less. It was getting late and cold; all she could think about was a meal and sleep before continuing the last bit of her journey home. According to The Boulder, Gaoling was only half a day away if they used earthbending to cover the distance.

Toph finished her dinner quickly at what passed for an inn and decided she would prefer her own homemade lodgings away from the noise and smell indoors. She sat down near the perimeter of the small village and raised two slabs of sandy earth with a chopping motion of her hands. Just as she was about to raise two more triangular walls to complete her little home, she sensed someone coming right towards her. _The steps are light and... three legs? No, just the normal two and a staff of some kind. Could it be?_

"Aang?"

The visitor stopped a few feet away.

"Hm? No. I am called Ghan."

The voice was certainly a young man's voice, but he was not the Avatar. This voice was a bit dry and raspy. Upon closer inspection she sensed the staff was different too... a bit thinner and made of different wood, although she had no idea what kind. It was capped on the top end in metal that hummed a bit like steel, shaped into a twisted loop that roughly resembled an hourglass.

"Miss, why are you outside and alone? The sun is nearly set and bandits prowl around here at night. Come, allow me to get you a proper room."

Toph stepped out of her incomplete tent and frowned at the boy.

"Miss? Listen buddy, I can take care of myself just fine. I'm outside and alone because I choose to be, and any bandits dumb enough to wake me up are going to be missing a few teeth afterwards. Just mind your own business so I can get some sleep."

"I admire your bravado miss, but I really must insist. Fei Hyo demands the faithful protect the meek and the... disabled."

Toph stomped her foot and her tent slid back into the ground. "What?! I am not meek or disabled! Now take your goofy stick and tell Fay-whoever to buzz off!"

The boy's temperament suddenly shifted, he replied low and gravely. "This is not a goofy stick, it is a sacred ankh, a symbol of the Sand Priests of the Si Wong. Fei Hyo is the spirit of the desert, and she does not take kindly to insults." His tone softened again and he added, "How can you see what I'm holding? Your eyes..."

"Yeah I'm blind, so are badgermoles. I see differently. Now will you go away, altar boy?"

"I'm not an altar boy," he ground out, "why are you being so difficult? Are you too proud to accept charity?"

Toph was reaching her limit. "I don't need charity! I need sleep! Now shut your trap and move on before I make you!"

The boy didn't seem to have much experience with being a charitable religious worker. His restraint went out the window, and he shifted into an aggressive stance.

"That's it! If you're so tough, you will have to prove it!" He yelled and slid his foot forward, loosening a blast of sand much further forward than a mere kick could have done. She quickly brought her hands in front of her and quickly snapped them outwards, parting the stream of granular earth to either side. Then she reached down into the more packed down dirt and brought a slab out to send flipping towards her attacker. In response he stepped back and swept his staff up, cleaving the slab in two from a distance.

_Stupid nosy sandbender jerk. _Toph might have enjoyed toying with this boy but she was tired and kranky. She was even somewhat interested in how he used his ankh with earthbending; she's seen it used with hammers and maces before, but staff-based techniques would be great to teach Aang. She wondered if a staff worked with water as well, but doubted fire would be wise seeing as it was made of wood.

It would have to wait. The Blind Bandit stomped the ground and pivoted her foot, snapping another slab out of the ground underneath the desert boy and sent him skipping across the ground until he slapped against a building. After a moment, he stood up, stared at her hatefully, and stomped away with sand shooting out of every step in random directions.

She watched him through the ground to make sure he didn't turn around. _Some piety in that one, he'll make a great priest_. She shrugged, rebuilt her tent, and settled in for sleep.

* * *

Aang patted Appa's head and flipped back into the saddle, where King Bumi sat with Momo perched on his knee. They seemed to be having a conversation, Momo chirping with Bumi gurgling and snorting. Aang offered to take Bumi back to the Jasmine Dragon with him to speak with Iroh, as he had hinted about 'having a sudden desire for a particular flower arrangement'. The nights were getting colder, Aang noticed. He looked forward to training with autumn winds.

"Aang, who's flying Appa?"

"Appa knows the way, right boy?"

An affirmative roar.

Aang was quiet for a moment, but the ride with short and he didn't have time for small talk. In the air was the only place they were truly guaranteed privacy; he still felt like the Dai Li were swarming around the city. He hadn't seen or sensed any, but couldn't shake the feeling nonetheless.

"Bumi, what do you think of this Taku plan?" he blurted out.

Bumi read the airbender's tone and got a bit more serious. "It's suspicious, but I think you already know that."

"It sounds great, almost too good to be true. I want to believe it, but I've seen too much to not be worried."

"The plan was approved today Aang, we'll find out soon enough."

Aang looked down. "No, I can't wait on this. I'll need to look into it, I must actively shape the world to preserve peace and balance."

Bumi nodded. "Well Aang, my suggestion would be to wait for the work to start while you continue to attend the meetings here a while longer. Then gather your friends as you intended to do anyway, and bring them to help build Taku. Constructive jin!" he finished with a flourish of hands.

Aang tilted his head and grinned. "Constructive jin? You're making that up."

"Am I? I don't know. The point is that you'll be able to help out a bit if this is a good thing, and in the meantime be in the best place to find out if its a bad thing."

"Always the mad genius Bumi," Aang said with a smile, "and always good for advice. Are you going to discuss this with Iroh and the rest of the White Lotus?"

"I will, we have eyes and ears in many places." He twiddled his fingers as if telling a ghost story.

"I don't think you're the only ones Bumi; be careful." He put a hand on his old friend's shoulder.

"We always are Aang; don't worry so much!" Bumi returned the gesture with a laugh.


	5. The Usual Suspects

Chapter 5: The Usual Suspects

Finely tailored boots with upturned toes trod along a rocky path. Boots that have seen this path many times and were likely to see it many more. Zuko walked along with Captain Jee, the man who once served as his Lieutenant during his banishment. Zuko knew little of this man's past but knew he must have done something that garnered disfavor from the ex-Fire Lord to earn the dubious honor of being part of the banished prince's crew.

That, combined with a mutual understanding they had gained during a storm that nearly sunk his ship, made Zuko feel he could trust the man. He was pleased to discover Jee had survived the Siege of the North and had asked him to accept promotion to Captain of the Royal Guard not long ago. Jee took his new position with pride and dedication, and had insisted on personally coming along with Zuko for this visit in light of recent events.

_Recent events... _Zuko clenched his teeth.

_ Zuko slammed his fist down on the desk in his private study, sending a spurt of flame dancing upwards as if he had flipped a bowl of lava soup. He looked up and met eyes with his visitors: Mai, Ty Lee, Suki, and Jee. Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose so hard he thought it would snap._

_ "So, let me get this right... we have five former War Council members who disappeared with Azula's cruiser, but we don't know where or even in what direction. We have had a breach in communications and a mass of forged records which has kept knowledge of missing ships, machines, supplies, and personnel a secret from me for several weeks. Oh, and we have several villages threatening anything from civil disobedience to open revolt. Did I miss anything?" Zuko almost wheezed his closing question and let his head sink._

_ "That's about all of it." Mai stated quietly, placing a hand on Zuko's shoulder._

_ "I have something to add, sir," Jee chimed in, "a communication from the Southern Tribe; looks like it was sent by courier to a hawk tower in the Patola area and it's marked urgent. Oh, and this for you, m'lady."_

_ He handed the sealed document to Zuko, and then another clearly private message to Suki, which she pocketed gingerly. Ty Lee looked about ready to open her mouth but Mai shot her a warning glance. Zuko unrolled the scroll and his eyes scanned back and forth across the parchment._

_ "What is it?" Mai almost whispered. Zuko slapped the document onto his desk._

_ "More bad news, of course. Hakoda's ship was attacked by one of our ships, flying our insignia."_

_ "They don't think..." Ty Lee gasped out._

_ "No, they don't. Sokka believes it was either a patrol ship that fell out of contact, or a rogue crew that just will not accept the way this war ended. I wish we had faster and more reliable communication to be sure."_

_ "Or it's someone loyal to Admiral Chan." Suki added._

_ Zuko nodded as Mai tapped his shoulder, holding the discarded note in front of her._

_ "Zuko, did you read about this dart Sokka described?"_

_ "Poison of some kind, not fatal thankfully."_

_ "Well, he mentions it had an unusual construction, and gets into a lot of details. A firebender launched it at Katara and it just skimmed right through a wall of water. Not any dart I've heard of, and I know my darts."_

_ "The poison-loaded type was never your style, I hope. What are you thinking?"_

_ Mai shrugged._

_ Jee cleared his throat. "Well, despite the fact the attack failed, it seems to have been more than a random raid on a Water Tribe ship. It was planned, schemed in detail, and included a special device intended for a specific person."_

_ Zuko stiffened. He turned to Suki. "Suki, I know your offer to have the Kyoshi assist us here is temporary and at your discretion, but I have a requ-"_

_ "Zuko, you don't need to walk on political eggshells with me, just don't get too bossy and make sure that replacement statue on Kyoshi Island is made of solid gold, that's all." She smiled genuinely and winked._

_ "Ah, right," Zuko coughed a bit, "well, I'd like you to find out anything you can in the more unruly villages, out of uniform of course. There must be some information somewhere."_

_ "I think I should talk to Azula," Ty Lee shot out, "you know, in case she's somehow pulling the strings. You did mention this was an elaborate scheme Mai, and Azula was always good at those."_

_ Zuko raised an eyebrow, Mai turned to scrutinize her friend. An uncomfortable silence came over the room, and although it only lasted a few seconds, it felt like so much longer._

_ "I'll go with you, then." Mai said flatly. Ty Lee smiled, but it was pretty mild for her._

_ "It makes sense to visit my father as well, I guess," Zuko intoned, with equal flatness. "Just be careful, my last visit with my sister didn't go well, and you two can't bend her fire away in case she decides to try."_

"Lord Zuko, we've arrived." Jee said. It was the only words he had spoken since they left the palace. Zuko nodded and opened the door to the cell, glad he didn't have to worry about his father trying to burn the rest of his face off in this meeting, and praying Mai and Ty Lee would would not come back with scars to match his own. Zuko mentally sighed, steeled himself for what was sure to be cutting and pointless banter, and closed the door behind him, leaving Jee to stand watch outside.

His father looked a bit worse than before. Zuko had made sure he wasn't cruelly mistreated, but that was a courtesy he ordered for all prisoners. His father's eyes, once bright and gold as if there was a fire burning behind them, were now dull and listless like tarnished brass. He was the Fire Lord, briefly the Phoenix King, and now he was the ruler of a straw mat. He was lucky to have that.

"Ah, the Fire Lord visits me again, to what do I owe this honor? The usual, I suppose? 'Where is my mommy?'" he asked mockingly.

"Not this time." Zuko responded flatly. It was true, his previous visits were attempts to extract information on the whereabouts of his mother, and all had amounted to nothing. He would not give up, and he had tried other approaches in parallel, such as hiring Jun, the bounty hunter, as a tracker.

Unfortunately, she had made some exaggerated claims about Nala's ability to find people. The shirshu's range was not limitless nor was its powerful sense of smell able to lock onto a scent from an item a woman hadn't touched in over six years. She offered to keep the shawl and search for his mother in between other jobs, at least. Zuko refused to accept that she was gone, but now he had imminent disaster to worry about again.

"So... are you going to talk or just stare at me?" Ozai taunted, although he looked a little nervous. Zuko decided to play his part a bit, something his father and sister taught him well enough.

"Oh, I have plans for you, Father, don't worry. I might change them, if you cooperate."

Ozai's eyes flickered slightly, then narrowed. "I'm almost impressed, Zuko. Perhaps you won't run our great nation into the ground after all."

"Well, I'm sure I'll be putting plenty of things into the ground eventually, Father."

Again, Ozai's eyes twitched, ever so slightly. Zuko wondered why he hadn't tried this approach before, but the mental nausea creeping up the back of his mind was answer enough. Ozai said nothing more, so Zuko continued without the thinly veiled threats.

"Some of your old friends have run off on me, and I'd like to know where they would be going."

Ozai snarled his words out between dry laughter. "What motivation is there to help you? Even if I knew anything, I have no intention of betraying true patriots."

"True patriots? They're going to ignite a civil war that could leave our country weak and crippled. You wanted to spread our greatness over the world right? Well, if these old fools are allowed to go unchecked we won't have enough greatness to spread over a crust of bread! How's that for your motivation?" Zuko spat the last words.

Ozai dropped his mask and turned towards the wall. Zuko waited for his words to sink in, hoping, praying, maybe his father had a shred of decency in him, that he wouldn't let his whole country destroy itself. Just as he was about to give up, Ozai spoke.

"Very well, Fire Lord, I will help you."

* * *

"There it is girls, the Great Gates of Azulon," Suki stated from the deck of their small Fire Nation skiff.

"Aren't they supposed to be on fire, or something?" Yumi asked as she fixed her dark hair back into a bun.

"What are we doing here Suki?" Hei-Lin asked. "I thought we were investigating towns with grumpy tradesmen."

Suki turned to answer her friends and fellow warriors. Five were with her, all well-trained and disciplined fighters. She figured their chatty behavior was perhaps due to the nakedness of being without their normal weapons or armor, something she understood well. Instead they were clad in light and revealing Fire Nation clothing; early autumn here was still sweltering.

"Relax you two. The gates aren't always on fire. As for the grumpy traders, the last village made me think of another approach. There is a town on the southern cliffs by these gates, and Azula's cruiser may have been spotted by someone there as it had to pass through here at some point. If we find that ship, maybe we can find the 'Filthy Five'."

Kanima giggled. "'Filthy Five' Suki? That Water Tribesman is rubbing off on you."

Suki shot her a glance but could think of nothing to say in her defense.

"Enough chatter," Suki said. "We'll dock, visit the town under pretense of sightseeing, and try to dig up something."

Once in the town, the six girls made a convincing show of being academy girls on a shopping trip. Suki even managed a decent impression of Ty Lee and started blathering about how great a pink dress would look on her and started reading the auras of random strangers. _Not that I don't like her... but sometimes it's a bit much._

Information on a passing royal cruiser was not to be found, however, and the girls decided they would retire to a tea house for dinner before returning to their boat.

The six warriors sat at a long wooden table on one of the far walls of the tea house. It was a simple place. The furniture consisted only of plain wooden tables and stools, and the décor was limited to a few dull red tapestries pinned to the wall or draped from support beams crossing the ceiling, but the food was good and the drinks refreshing after a long day of walking and talking. Suki looked at her sisters-at-arms and sighed. They looked content for a rest, but each held a hardness in her eyes.

"Listen to me, all of you," Suki said quietly, "we'll get the people responsible for trying to rekindle the war. We've been training for operations like this for years, we just need to keep at it."

Her fellow warriors all stopped dining and looked at her. A few eyes brightened and a few stayed cold. A pair of cold eyes spoke.

"Suki... that's easy for you to say," Osha said. "You escorted the Avatar over the serpent's pass. You broke out of the highest security prison in the Fire Nation. You helped bring down an entire fleet of Fire Nation airships, and during Sozin's Comet no less!"

"So what? I did all of those things with help, as part of a team. We're a team too. We rescued the Avatar's bison. We helped refugees get to Ba Sing Se. We're trusted as elite soldiers all over the world. There's bound to be setbacks here and there... now keep your voice down."

Kanima chimed in. "Oh, don't mind her Suki, she's just upset because she wasn't as good at getting the young men to spill their guts to her."

"Oh shut up!" Hei-Lin snapped. "At least Osha has some dignity; you might as well have given that muscle-y guy a private dance with the way you were swinging those hips around!"

"It was for the mission!" Kanima replied with a smile, and even Hei-Lin could not maintain her ill humor for long.

The girls laughed, spirits rising again. Suki smiled. Being a good fighter was hard, but being a good leader was harder. She knew her fellow warriors did not take to their defeat by Azula and subsequent imprisonment very well, but Azula was brought off her high eelhound eventually.

The laughter around the table dimmed out with the light as long shadows were cast over the dining fighters. Suki looked up and saw a group of four men staring down at them. The one in front, clearly the leader, snapped his fingers, alternately igniting and dousing a flame on his thumb. Another picked at his fingernails with a long knife. The two in the back just curled their lips in a mocking smile. They looked like soldiers, or perhaps ex-soldiers, out of uniform but combat-worn. The leader spoke up.

"What mission is that, ladies?"

Suki spoke quickly, making her best effort to turn on the charm.

"Oh, just girl talk gentlemen. We don't get out of the Academy often, it was _our mission_ to get some new outfits."She smiled sweetly and inwardly felt sick.

"Of course, of course," the snapping continued, causing the faces around the table to strobe slowly. "You see, the boys and I here, we heard your little group has been asking a lot of questions around town today. A lot of questions."

Suki looked around at her team. They were all ready. Even without their armor, fans, and swords, Kyoshi Warriors were not to be trifled with.

"I'm afraid you ladies are going to have to come with us. We can't have you bringing anything back to the traitor prince."

Suki's eyes widened briefly. Their hard work paid off after all. These boneheads might as well have delivered themselves bound and gagged.

"We'll be bringing whatever we want, wherever we want." With that, Suki shot out of her seat and grabbed a hanging tapestry from the support beam above her, swinging into the rafters. The firebender predictably started blasting fire at her, but she had plenty of cover. She only hoped the nice little tea house would not be completely torched in the process.

Her team reacted quickly to Suki's distraction. Kanima and Osha, sitting farthest from their assailants, dropped back behind the table and flipped it into the thugs. The men scattered, and the handful of other diners left hurriedly to avoid being dragged into the fight.

One of the previously smiling men found Hei-Lin's muscular but feminine thighs around his head, but before he could process his apparent good fortune, he was flipped onto his back and pinned into the earth with two sets of chopsticks.

The other smiley man attempted in vain to deflect the dinnerware projectiles the smaller girls, Yumi and Iru, were launching at him, until Osha snuck up from behind, loosened his belt, and hogtied him with it.

The one with the knife swung wildly, panicked at seeing two of his compatriots downed in mere seconds by a handful of scantily clad girls. Backing away, he tripped over a stool and cracked his head on the side of a table. The girls winced.

The firebending man still tried to strike Suki above him, but each shot erupted puffs of smoke and singed splinters, obscuring his vision. He paused, peering into the smoke above him. He saw her flip down and through the front door, his trail of fire coming behind her much too late.

The snap happy man ran after her, foiling any potential ambush from the roof by immediately blasting a jet of flame upwards as he crossed the threshold. He heard a muffled yelp, followed by series of rolling thuds and a softer thump. His target had fallen off the roof. Lowering his stance and smirking, the man turned back inside to check the situation indoors.

Barely a few steps in, merrily snapping flame from his fingers, he was stunned to see all three of his fellow mercenaries incapacitated on the ground. Osha and Kanima were tying them up securely.

He brought himself into a wide stance and took a deep breath... but it was forced out of him as a strong kick from Hei-Lin hit him in the side of the ribs. He turned with fire brimming at his fingertips, but another kick from little Iru came low at his ankles, tripping him into a backwards roll. As he recovered, Yumi's sandaled heels connected at high speed right into his face, sending him flying right back out the front door.

The man wasn't snapping any more. He got up to his feet and wiped his mouth, staring at the three women who dared to attack him.

"I was going to take prisoners, but now I'm just going to burn all of you to ashes!"

He took a low stance, drawing a deep breath. The girls flinched, but then simply stood there. Before he could release his attack, he felt a jolt in his lower back, then between his shoulder blades, then right at the base of the neck. He collapsed in a heap, with Suki standing behind him, one arm still outstretched. The other arm, held loosely at her side, looked singed and red. She was covered in scrapes and bruises from rolling on the hard slope of the tea house roof. She flipped him over with one foot and winced slightly.

"Now we're going to ask _you_ some of those questions, big guy." She smiled again, but there was no sweetness.

"I'll tell you nothing. You women might be good fighters, academy girls, but you wouldn't torture your own kinsmen... we're war heroes! We fought for that pretty cloth you're wearing right now. You're just another set of brats in love with the traitor prince!"

Suki turned on her nastiest death-glare. "Oh, that's where you're wrong. I might have stuck that landing, but I don't appreciate the little sunburn you gave me here. We're not Fire Nation. We're Earth Kingdom. You know all the stories, I'm sure. We're bloodthirsty barbarians, savages that know nothing of civilization. We live in the woods and in caves, and we _love_ torturing people."

Mei-Lin caught on and added, "Sometimes we eat them afterwards too." She licked her lips. Suki resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"You're going to tell us everything you know, or you're going to be served up as the next Chef's Special." Suki winked at the man, and his eyes widened in terror. _Much more effective than sweet talk, it seems._

* * *

Voices. Voices. Voices in dreams, and in nightmares. Voices from within, voices from without but still within. Voices, voices, voices. They never shut up. Sometimes it's her own voice, sometimes it's family, friends, or enemies. Someone is always talking though, and Azula would kill for a moment of peace. _Oh yes, I'd kill for some peace, if I could. If I could._

Today, now, whatever day it was, the voices were coming from outside her room. From beyond the door. The door from which real people walked through. That's how she could tell the difference between what was real, and what was not. Men in burgundy robes, strangers, came through that door with food and water, to lead her outside sometimes, or to ask her questions. The people that were suddenly just _there _in her room... they were the fake ones. The illusions sent to haunt her, or to test her maybe.

Admittedly, her genius theory was called into question with Zuko's fifth visit. Or was it his first? He walked through the door that time, after all. He wasn't mean, didn't mock her for her defeat or show up with a crown on his head. He just... talked. More talking. She told him to shut up that time too, but after he left through that door, crueler voices spoke instead. Perhaps she should have stuck with real voices. Too late now.

Azula sat at the edge of her bed and waited for the door to open. She wasn't hungry; it seemed it was a little early for her meal. A trip for some fresh air? Unlikely, they only took her out twice before, with about twenty guards (and she knew they were guards, despite the unassuming robes). Such an escort was difficult to manage, probably required pulling people away from other patients.

Patients. Must be question-time with one of the 'physicians' again. They asked her things. Things about her family, her opinions. She would ask them things too, but they always answered with questions. Redirected the subject back to herself. These healers were intriguing. Mindbenders, she called them. Any one of them was more of a people person than she had ever been, as they were impervious to her mind games. It was frustrating. She thought she could talk her way out of this soft prison, this disgraceful destination for burnouts, back when she still cared to leave. That was some time ago, though. The drive was gone when a mindbender asked her what purpose would it serve to escape. What would she do? She had no answer for him.

She could try to raise a resistance, perhaps. Dethrone Zuko. Find her father and free him. Reclaim the glory of her nation. Be a princess again. But apathy won her over. She'd surely fail again. She had a good run, perfection for many years. She would perhaps be mentioned in history books here and there. Struggling at this point, at the bottom of a long and dark well, would just amount to some ineffectual splashing. It was time to die.

Unfortunately, she could not hasten that. She tried to breathe fire on herself, to end in a literal blaze of glory as only a princess should, but found she was unable to produce even the most minute flames. She looked at her special restraints and laughed at how pointless they were. She was weak, unable to bend, and now truly useless. She considered bashing her skull against the walls, but could not bring herself to end things in such a manner. It was not noble enough for her, it was not how a princess should go.

Zuko's visit had surprised her, roused some level of curiosity. It was a puzzle for her to work on, and Azula loved puzzles. People were the most interesting puzzles. Figuring out how people worked, how to bend them to her whims, was a true thrill. He had suggested looking inward though. How stupid. She knew who she was. There was no puzzle there, no mystery. She was a princess and a warrior, who fought for her country with cunning and guile, and was thwarted in the end by the betrayal of her brother and her friends. _And that water witch. If only I had been a little faster, I'd be Fire Lord, and she would be a corpse with a smoldering stump where her head was._

"Let me go in first, ok?" Azula heard a small voice from the other side of her door.

"No, we go in together. You wouldn't let her hurt me, and I don't intend to let her hurt you. Besides, what makes you think shes going to be any more cooperative with you?" This voice was deeper, throaty. Azula recognized them both.

Then the door handle turned slowly. Through the portal where real people came from, came two faces she distinctly remembered saying she never wanted to see again. There was a stillness in the room as the door was shut behind them by Mai. No one spoke, no one made eye contact, although Mai was staring directly at Azula's turned cheek. Ty Lee broke the silence first.

"We're here to see you Azula," she said needlessly.

Azula turned towards her slowly.

"Well, now you've seen me. Be on your way."

Ty Lee frowned and looked at her feet. Mai continued staring at her. Azula met her gaze. Mai's expression betrayed nothing of her thoughts, but her posture indicated she was coiled tightly, ready to attack at a moments notice.

"Oh, I understand. You've come here to see that I'm _taken care of_." Azula made a throat-cutting gesture.

"Well, we do want to make sure you're taken care of Azula." Ty Lee didn't look up and didn't see Azula's gesture. Azula stared at her and tried to see if there was a threat there, but remembered Ty Lee didn't make threats. _She just suddenly punches you in the back with no warning._

Mai sighed. "We didn't come here to kill you Azula. That wasn't your sentence from Zuko. Unless you have any new crimes to add to the list since you got here?"

Azula fixed the pale, raven-haired girl with a look of genuine confusion. Mai had never seen anything like it.

"What crimes can I possibly commit here? Unless you count crimes against fashion. These faded yellow robes are hideous."

Ty Lee, despite her best efforts, burst out laughing. Azula glared at her.

"This is funny to you Ty Lee? Funny that I'm dressed in common rags instead of royal battledress? Funny that I spend my days answering questions from strangers in this tiny little room?"

Ty Lee stopped laughing immediately and muttered an apology. Mai's eyes narrowed and Azula heard a muted click. Azula rolled her eyes.

"Don't be so dramatic, Mai. If you're here to execute me, do it, but if you're waiting for me to attack so you can have some justification for murder, don't hold your breath. I can't do anything." Azula held up her restrained hands.

"You could breath fire on us Azula, I'm not stupid. I'm shocked they let you in here without a muzzle."

"For your information, I actually..." but she stopped herself. _Do not reveal weakness to the enemy._ Old habits die hard. Mai remained expressionless. Ty Lee was on the verge of tears. "So, why this visit again? I'm really getting tired of you two bothering me all the time."

Mai and Ty Lee exchanged glances. Ty Lee broke and tears rolled down her round face. She did not sob, did not move. There was just a steady stream of sadness in two rivulets. Mai was as stoic as ever. She turned to Azula again.

"Information is exactly what we need. We came to see if you were still here, first of all. The guards assure us you haven't had any other visitors aside from your brother. You're up to something Azula. You're throwing away your last chance to make amends for your past mistakes, and we're going to find out what you're planning here."

Azula hissed. "My last chance? My mistakes? I have to make amends? You two, are traitors. You should be in the deepest dungeons right now, rotting. Especially you Ty Lee. Mai I can almost understand, she was compelled by her stupid infatuation with my brother. But you assaulted the princess, you little circus freak. You're lucky that pretty little head is still on those shoulders. Instead, because of that damned Avatar and my foolish brother, you're all pardoned and I'm thrown in this disgraceful place." Her voice feel to a whisper. "I took both of you under my wing. You could have had great power in our new world Kingdom. You ingrates should be ashamed."

Mai shrugged. "I know I did what was right Azula. My only shame is that I didn't see it sooner. I love Zuko, but I've come to know that I did the right thing regardless. For the first time in my life I feel like more than just a shadow of a person. I made a difference. I-"

Mai was cut off when a pink blur suddenly flashed by her. Ty Lee had Azula by the shoulders, her eyes alight with a fury she had only seen once before. The acrobat stood on the bed, lifted the bound princess, and slammed her into the wall. Azula stared into Ty Lee's eyes with an expression of complete disbelief, but it was quickly replaced by a cold sneer.

"Well, not in the back this time at least, right?" Azula said.

Ty Lee bit her lip and shook Azula violently. Then she got right up in her face, only inches apart. Mai watched carefully, aware that at this range Azula could definitely roast her friend with her breath, and there was little she could do about it. But Ty Lee looked like she would not be deterred.

"You... how dare you Azula." Ty Lee said quietly. "You say we're traitors, that I should have lost my head for attacking you. You're unbelievable. We're supposed to be friends."

Azula rolled her eyes.

Ty Lee raised her voice. "You came and tore me away from the one place I felt at home by force. Don't look at me like that! I'm not a dumb as you think. Burning the safety net and letting out all the animals in a panicked stampede during my act was terrifying. I drew the line with Mai. You were going to kill her, and there was no way I was going to sit back and watch. The only traitor here is you, Azula. You put your friends through hell. Yes, you're a princess, but I always thought we were like sisters. Mai came here for information, but I just used it as an excuse because I was worried about you. I just feel stupid now." With that, she allowed Azula to drop onto the bed.

Ty Lee stepped down, opened the door, and left quietly. Azula just stared at Mai, wanting to say something smart, but still trying to catch up with Ty Lee's outburst. It was a lot of words. A lot of words she did not hear before.

_ She actually liked that circus? No, she just needed a nudge for a higher calling. My calling. Mai let criminals escape, and I was furious. I was just going to burn her a little, I think. Then we'd have a nice long talk about her mistake. She'd beg forgiveness and I'd have granted it, and we'd be a team again. Zuko would be..._

Azula looked at Mai. She couldn't really imagine the girl begging forgiveness at all. Things were not making sense again. Mai's lips were moving, but Azula couldn't hear them. She managed to lip-read only the last part: "...she would have done the same for you, you know. She would have died for you. It's more than you ever deserved."

The door shut. The room was not empty. Her mother stood in the corner and frowned at her, crossing her arms. Her father stood in the other corner, with a similar expression. Azula looked down and saw her blanket had shattered into a jigsaw puzzle. Azula loved puzzles. She picked up the first piece and looked for its match.


	6. Homecoming

Chapter 6: Homecoming

Snow and ice became water, and the water rose in twisting spirals as tanned fingers willed it to motion. The water melded into a globe several meters in diameter, and then this globe morphed into a colossal brick and became ice once again. With a wide stance and a quick open-palm gesture, Katara slid the great block of ice against an identical block nearby, extending the thick perimeter ramparts that would soon encompass her entire village. The waterbenders Pakku had brought with him to assist in rebuilding here had been very busy in her absence.

Katara stretched her arms and shoulders as she surveyed the surroundings and took a few long breaths. Her birthplace was well on the way to being restored as she remembered it many years ago; in fact, the work being done here would eventually bring the Southern Water Tribe to a level of civil advancement not seen in decades. It was certainly not anywhere near the size and scope of the Northern Tribe's city, but that was to be expected since her tribe consisted of only several dozen people, whereas their northern cousins numbered in the hundreds.

Even so, she smiled at the progress. Buildings were solidly constructed of bone, quality skins, and molded ice instead of being shapeless lumps of snow or flimsy tents. The wall she was working on would hold off any native animals and shelter her people from the fiercest arctic winds. She even helped build a pair of towers on the arc of the wall facing the ocean (although mainly to sate her brother's growing paranoia).

The new village was arranged in a horseshoe of buildings, with a large town hall at the point opposite the towers. A wide stream of water ran from the sea, under the icy gates between the towers, and ended in a large circular harbor nestled in the center of the village. A few different types of boats lined the harbor, including her father's. Between the harbor and the town hall lay the village circle, a giant open slab with a fire pit in the center made of a stone bowl. When lit, for feasts and celebrations, the surrounding ice would melt a bit and the stone vessel would be ensconced in a watery moat. It was an interesting and beautiful effect, and the amalgamation of four elements reminded her of Aang.

The young waterbending master turned back towards the wall again to resume her work. She all but insisted on finishing it herself, and only a few more blocks behind the town hall were needed to complete the circle. The other waterbenders protested at first, but Katara wanted the challenge and the exercise involved in manipulating large amounts of water and ice – for once not needing it for combat. That, and she enjoyed the fact the northern male benders were now down to detail work such as carving symbols into the ice and smoothing edges while she did the heavy lifting. She considered it a fair trade for the sexist treatment she received when seeking a waterbending master in the north, although Pakku had changed his mind and taught her eventually.

Her concentration, already waning from exhaustion and daydreaming, was completely broken when she heard some quiet shuffling in the snow and an old woman clearing her throat. Katara turned and saw her grandmother standing a few feet away, wearing an expression that was somehow a combination of nagging worry and dry humor, and she knew what was coming.

"Hi Gran-Gran, is it time for lunch already?"

Kanna smirked but it faded quickly. "Try almost time for dinner, Katara. You missed lunch. You've been home for a couple days and all I ever see you doing is working yourself half to death."

"Oh, don't worry about me. I always wanted to come back and be able to use my waterbending to help make our home better, and now I finally can. It's no trouble at all, really."

"No trouble, I'm sure, compared to attacking a Fire Nation ship all by yourself."

Katara's overly-disarming smile fell immediately. "Sokka promised he wouldn't tell you about that," she muttered angrily, "I didn't want you to worry."

"Your father told me dear, and if not him then any of the other men on the ship might have. There was no keeping that secret, I'm afraid. Besides, if I couldn't handle a little worry, I wouldn't have let you and your brother leave with the Avatar so many months ago. Now I'm told you were hit with some kind of needle and were out for quite a while. You should be resting, or at the very least eating regular meals."

"Really, I'm okay. I feel fine. I used self-healing techniques to make sure. In fact, I've been using some of them so I can work out here longer."

Kanna's frown drooped into a full-blown scowl. "Katara, I might not have your abilities, but I understand how they work. All bending requires your own energy, both spiritual and physical. You cannot cheat that fact with healing; all that will do is make you feel better off than you actually are. Now come with me, that wall will be waiting for you tomorrow, but this evening I intend to have a family dinner."

Defeated, Katara smoothed out the lump she was going to form into the next block and walked beside her grandmother towards her new home. It was a large structure, adjacent to the town hall, and had rooms for her grandparents, her father, her brother, and herself, plus a fifth room that served as a bath, all joined by a large common area where the family would cook, eat, and talk. When viewed from above, the building resembled a paw print in the snow.

As the pair crossed in front of the town hall, Kanna stopped suddenly and placed a gloved hand on her granddaughter's shoulder. Katara turned, and all hope that her grandmother was going to spare her a probing lecture vanished instantly.

"Katara, whether you admit it to me or not, you've been pushing yourself to extremes." Kanna lowered her voice a bit. "I can only imagine how your journey over the past few months affected you, and I dare not imagine what risks you've taken. But you have won a great peace for the world, and it's time you take the chance to take care of yourself before others."

Katara looked down at her feet, then rose again to meet her grandmother's eyes. "That's just it Gran-Gran... we're not finished yet. That Fire Nation ship attacking us is proof enough. Maybe we'll never be finished."

Kanna opened her mouth to speak, but Katara continued on. "I can't rest now... Aang is still out there working to heal the world and I'm supposed to just put my feet up and be a peaceful village girl again? I won't stop until I feel like the world is back to the way it's supposed to be... when it's in balance and at real peace for us."

"'Us'?" Kanna's typical frown lifted into a knowing smile. Katara's stoic tone quickly shifted into dodgy embarrassment.

"Yeah, _us_. You know, _all _of us. People. Why, what were you thinking I meant?"

"Oh, never mind dear. You're right, there is still plenty to do. But you must pace yourself. A hunter who chases prey without rest may catch a few arctic hen in a day, but the hunter who knows when to rest and when to move and act will catch many more." Katara nodded slowly, and the two women continued back towards their home.

* * *

"So... Gramp-Gramp. Family dinner. Here. With you... in the family. How's that sharkwhale steak? Southern tribe hasn't caught something that big in years. Meat for every family! Mmmmhm!" Sokka observed his recently acquired grandfather finish chewing his food. He seemed to be taking an awfully long time with it.

Katara, seated next to him at his right, stifled a giggle. His father, across their little family circle on the other side of Katara, seemed nearly as annoyed with the delay as Sokka felt, although it was barely readable on his face. Understandable though, since Hakoda was the one to harpoon the animal in the first place. Completing the circle was Pakku, then Kanna, who was seated to Sokka's left. A pot of soup was kept warm in the middle of them all on a bed of coals.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that," Pakku said, prompting Kanna to elbow her husband in the ribs. "Er, that is, it's quite delicious. Your father made a great catch, and your grandmother is a superb cook."

Katara grinned, probably enjoying seeing her former teacher forced into politeness that was entirely against his nature. Or, giving her the benefit of the doubt, she was just as happy about having a meal with good-hearted family banter as he was.

It took some getting used to Pakku being a part of the picture. The man never seemed to like him very much, and Sokka was running out of ideas to find some common ground (those ideas consisting of tribal traditions and food, so far). Suddenly, a thought struck him.

"Grand-Pakku, do you know how to play Pai Sho?"

Pakku lifted an eyebrow. "Please, Sokka... just 'Grandfather' or 'Pakku' is-"

Kanna interjected. "I think Gramp-Gramp has a certain ring to it, actually." Pakku winced.

"Anyway," Pakku said after a pause, "yes, I do know my way around a Pai Sho table. Brought a set with me, in fact. Do you play?"

"Well, actually, I don't know how. I was wondering if you would teach me? I have this one tile that Master Piandao gave me, and I'd like to know how it works in the game."

Pakku paused again and leaned forward a little. "Piandao gave you a Pai Sho tile?"

"Yes, a white lotus tile."

Pakku straightened his posture again. Sokka couldn't quite read the expression on Pakku's face. Suppressed disbelief? It was gone too quickly, replaced by something even more difficult to place.

"Sokka, when we met up in Ba Sing Se, did you take the time to ask Piandao about the tile? Surely you realize a lone tile being offered as a gift is a bit... unusual."

"Well, yea, it was weird," Pakku groaned, Sokka continued quickly, "well, we kinda had a comet on the way, and an air fleet to demolish, and you guys had-"

"Sokka, after dinner, I'll be happy to teach you the basics of Pai Sho," he dismissed the incoming rant with a wave of his hand, "and how the white lotus tile is played."

"Really? Great!" Sokka beamed at his success.

Sokka's father and grandmother exchanged confused glances, while his sister quietly slurped at her soup. Sokka, of course, knew the tile was a reference to the Order of the White Lotus, the secret society of old geezers that, among other things, reclaimed Ba Sing Se during the passing of Sozin's Comet. His sister was also aware of who they were, but the city and most other people knew only they were liberated by men and women in white and indigo robes.

The order was not quite as secret after that open assault, but still mysterious. Sokka had originally assumed the tile was a sentimental keepsake of some kind, but now that he was suddenly revisiting the subject without thoughts of taking out the Fire Lord dominating his brain, he was not so sure. Pakku's reaction seemed to indicate it meant _something_, although Sokka refused to allow himself to get carried away with wild theories now. Food first, old geezer clubs later.

Before even a minute of silence passed as the family enjoyed their meal, Bato came bolting in through the thick skin that served as a front door. By the way he was panting, he must have sprinted from the opposite end of the village. _Please let me finish my steak..._

"Hakoda! We spotted a Fire Nation ship coming towards us. I sent a couple waterbenders to investigate, and they were turned away by heavy fire!"

Hakoda stood up. "Did they make it back?"

"Yes, they said the ship had a considerable compliment of firebenders, and the anchor was down. I think they intend to bombard us from a distance, out of range of our own defenses."

Sokka frowned. Their static 'defenses' at the moment were essentially just whatever the waterbenders in town could throw, and the range limited to how far they could throw it. Their best weapons all involved boats.

Hakoda began giving orders. "Launch the skimmers, get as many waterbenders out there as we can. We'll out-maneuver them and damage their ships at medium range... tell them to stay out of reach of the firebenders but too close for the trebuchets to be effective. Might take a lot for ice to break metal but it can be done. I'll follow with my ship and a boarding party. We're going to get some answers this time."

Skimmers, or skim-boats, were essentially just three small canoes bound together by a strong bridging frame of bone and wood. The central canoe was largest, and could hold two benders to steer and accelerate the craft. The side canoes held one bender each, who provided balance for quick turns but more importantly could shoot 'magic water' around with reckless abandon. Sokka had come up with the design while telling his version of the Foggy Swamp incident to the locals.

Those swampbenders could push a boat at amazing speeds, and he was determined to see the Water Tribe take the natural position of having the best navy in the world, one step at a time. Katara, being the gifted learner and teacher she was, managed to instruct all of Pakku's benders in basic swampbending styles, although Pakku was not terribly excited by what he called 'apefrog arm swirling techniques'.

Unfortunately, there were only four skim-boats and seventeen total benders. Sokka already knew who would be sitting this one out. He had not, however, realized the argument already started.

"Dad! I should be out there helping too!"

"No Katara, you never took time to recover from the last fight." Hakoda stated in a paternal not-for-discussion voice as he quickly put on heavier clothing. Katara looked about ready to explode.

"Katara, they tried capturing you last time, I think they're hoping to draw you out again. Dad's right, you should stay here." Sokka hoped his answer would be more palatable. Katara unclenched her fists and strode into her room without a word. Hakoda let out the breath he was holding.

"Thanks son."

"Thank me by kicking some firebender butt before she changes her mind. I'm going to the northeast tower, I'll signal if I see something suspicious, because this attack seems awfully odd. I mean, one ship? That's just insulting." Sokka finished tying his last boot strap.

"I'll gather my men," Pakku said, as he ducked under the door flap and skated towards the harbor as fast as he could bend the water beneath his feet. Hakoda followed him along with Bato, and Sokka sprinted towards the frozen gates of their village.

He reached the tower without being too winded, but climbing the stairs inside of it afterwards was no picnic. Gasping for air at the top and letting out a long, whining exhale, he pulled out his spyglass to view the ocean.

Despite being well into the afternoon, the sky was still plenty bright, and would continue to be for several more hours. Night time was relatively short in the south pole at this time of the year as the summer crossed into autumn. The firebenders would not be losing their primary power source any time soon. Sokka spotted the four skimmers blasting eastward, Pakku steering the lead craft with subtle gestures but not surprisingly declining to propel it with the necessary wild circular arm movements. Closer in, his father's ship was leaving port doubtlessly with the warriors of the tribe. Sokka admitted to himself that he wanted in on the action, but there was just something awfully peculiar about this attack.

As the skimmers approached the anchored Fire Nation vessel, he took a closer look at the ship. Clearly the same one as before, and they had not even repaired all the damage Katara inflicted. That meant they had only half of their fireball launchers functional. Sokka scratched his head. He watched javelins of ice pelt the hull of the ship, probing for weak spots, as the skimmer squadron strafed from a safe distance. The firebenders on board returned fire, but fire at that range was easily avoided or shot down with the limitless ammunition of the ocean.

Now, from behind the Fire Nation frigate, roared a half-dozen steam-powered... he did not know what to call them. Mechanical water mounts. They ran on the waves, held two people each, and were very fast. He saw them used to attack a river town in the Fire Nation a couple months ago. Fire Nation skim-boats.

Was that the trap? Sokka scratched his head again. Firebenders on the back to shoot, he assumed. They would slow the waterbenders down, certainly. Maybe even put them in some danger. But the waterbenders were just as fast, if not faster, and definitely more maneuverable, and were almost certain to win against them. They also clearly saw the steam skimmers coming, so Sokka had no need to bother with the tower's smoke signals.

He lowered the spyglass to think, and just happened to catch a faint glint in his peripheral vision. Not far to the east, on a tall glacial cap, was a glittering light. _Sun glare?_ Sokka raised his telescope at the glare, and saw a firebender crouched low, projecting controlled bursts of flame into the air. _Flash, flash, flassssh, flash-flash._ Next to him, another Fire Nation soldier was kneeling in the snow, and had his own spyglass out. Looking precisely in Sokka's direction. _Oh._

The young Water Tribe warrior turned towards his village and saw three sleds dragged by komodo-rhinos, each rhino with a rider and fitted with small launchers, and each sled carrying three more soldiers each. Fireballs were already screaming towards his tower. _You_ s_hould have let the men finish that wall Katara._

* * *

Gaoling felt the same as it did when she left, but this time she was sensing it from a different angle. Never before had Toph actually walked through the streets of her home town. She had always traveled discreetly, often underground or around the perimeter to avoid being seen by anyone. She made trips to the foothills, the Earth Rumble arena, or the badgermole caverns, but she always had to consider keeping it a secret from her parents. She could not just stroll to the town square and buy a piece of fruit as she intended to do now. _Wonder if anyone recognized me yet?_

The Boulder and The Hippo had said their goodbyes at the front gate of the town. They expected her to make an appearance at the next tournament, but Toph did not really feel like it would be much fun for her now that she was used to fighting the likes of the Dai Li and comet-supercharged firebenders. She came here for a different sort of challenge, one that could not be resolved by brute force. She hoped her letter had greased the skids somewhat.

Toph strolled up to a fruit vendor. "One applepear please."

"That will be..." Toph felt the woman merchant's heart skip a beat, her posture tense, and her footing shift. Toph felt that uncomfortable tingle that meant she was being stared at.

"Spit it out lady, how much?"

"Uh, six coppers..."

Toph, growing frustrated by the woman's odd behavior, quickly dug into her belt pouch and fished out the coins. Metalbending had made it so much easier for her to count out money, as beforehand she had to use a combination of weighing individual coins in her hand and testing them with her teeth. By now she had learned to identify dozens of metals by the ways they channeled vibrations. She shoved the coins into the woman's hand, grabbed the fruit from the cart, and began to walk away.

"Miss, wait... please."

"What, did I give you the wrong amount?" She was certain she had not.

"No no... if you don't mind my asking... are you the daughter of Lao and Poppy Bei Fong?"

Toph tilted her head up and to the side and set her eyes on the woman's face, which she understood was an appropriate gesture one would make when appraising a mysterious stranger if you could see, but probably only served to unsettle the apple lady even more when coming from a short, blind tom-boy. Before she ran away to be Aang's earthbending sifu, this town did not even know she existed.

"Who wants to know?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. You just seem to closely resemble a sculpture I saw in the gallery not long ago."

Toph coughed.

"A sculpture?"

"Yes, Lady Bei Fong has become quite the local artist over the past few months. Really exquisite work I must say, especially for someone who cannot earthbend. She does it all with her bare hands and simple tools."

"That doesn't sound like my... Mrs. Bei Fong to me. Where's this gallery?"

Toph had to ask people for directions repeatedly on the way over, since no one could give them to her in terms she would be able to use, like the number of buildings or street crossings to pass. She made it there eventually, and after deciding the let her hair down to discourage recognition, she asked the gallery owner to show her the Bei Fong exhibit. No weirdness this time, which actually surprised her.

"Aren't you going to complain about my dirty clothes or something?"

The owner, a man of high society by his tone, answered casually, "You may see the Bei Fong exhibit, um... like _that_. I'd prefer it if you not come indoors, however. The Bei Fong sculptures are out in the back lawn, as per the artist's request. It attracts all sorts of, um... _your_ types. Far be it for me to argue with the lady."

Deciding to ignore the snobbish owner for now, she walked around the building to the back. Thankfully, she was alone save for an older couple quietly strolling around the grass, and they seemed to pay her no heed.

Toph stepped into a fenced area and reached out with her earthbending senses, feeling the vibrations through her feet. She could identify many things in contact with earth by the impressions they made and the way they distort her special "vision". She knew what trees felt like. Insects. People. She could somewhat 'see' indoors too, even if she is separated from the earth by a wooden floor, provided there is enough dust and dirt around. A luxury she could never enjoy in her parents' immaculate home.

But here, everything was very clear, and she could see the sculptures easily. Each one was made of stone, clay, marble... all earthen substances. Some smaller sculptures were raised on earthen pedestals. She made out a few that seemed to be irregular shapes. One twisty object looked extremely difficult to create with just hand tools. She noted some more normal objects, like a carved vase. The carvings were difficult to make out though, and she didn't want to get yelled at for touching it directly. _Mom made all these? She always seemed content playing the part of wife and mother in nobility. This is actually... pretty neat._

Toph turned her attention to the largest sculpture in the center of the lawn. It was a figure of a girl, about her height, about her build, with... _ok, it's definitely me._ The statue was carved out of jade in amazing detail. What was more shocking was the pose. Her mother captured her in an earthbending move, despite never having seen her earthbend. Her jade double was donned in a frilly gown though. Toph deduced it must be based off what her father had relayed of when she mopped the floor with the entire set of Earth Rumble regulars.

"It's simply called 'My Daughter'." The old woman of the couple had crept up next to her, and Toph had not even noticed, being so focused on the jade. "Beautiful, isn't she? Such a sad story though."

Toph risked the question, still staring at the statue. "Sad story?"

"Why yes. You see, Lady Bei Fong had a blind daughter, she'd be about your age now actually. She and her husband decided to keep her a secret, to protect her from harm."

"Are you sure it wasn't to protect them from embarrassment?" Toph asked sourly.

The old woman continued without even hearing her. "A few months ago, her daughter ran away, and all they have heard is rumors."

_Ugh, Hawky, you stupid, useless bird._ "What rumors?"

"That her daughter trained the Avatar to earthbend, and fought beside him in the war against the Fire Nation. That she can see without her eyes, somehow, and can outmatch any earthbender in the world. Oh, and she can supposedly bend metal, if you believe such nonsense. Can you imagine doing all that at such a young age? Poppy doesn't know what to believe of the rumors, but she's not heard anything of her daughter that could be verified since she disappeared."

Toph whirled around, tears brimming under her eyes. "I have to be going now."

In a flash she was tearing around the side of the building, propelling herself with earthbending but trying to keep it from demolishing the roads and alleyways. But she would go straight home now. No more procrastination, no more sad stories, no more rumors for her parents to suffer. People didn't seem to enjoy her reorganizing the town grid, but earthbenders could fix any distortion in the road easily. She'll do it herself, if she has to, but later, not now.

Up the roads to the scholar's district. Past Master Yu's Earthbending Academy, which was apparently closed down. Over to the residential district. On to the upper-class areas. Now the Bei Fong estate's private road. The wall, which she scaled in seconds. The guards saw a girl with long black hair flipping around wildly make a straight line right to the front door, but they barely processed it in time to interfere.

Toph did not slow down enough at the door. She knocked on it with her head.

"Ow!" She rubbed her head, tried to compose herself. The door was opened by a servant.

"May I... help... you... Toph?" The last word was spoken as a second question, but the servant woman knew who this wild and unkempt girl was.

Toph looked up, tears streaked from both eyes towards her temples, new ones flowing down her cheeks. "Are my parents home?"

* * *

Sokka dove out of the tower, clutching a long spear of bone that was fortunately propped up against a corner, and slid down the tower wall. Adding to his small blessings, there was a slight curve to the tower, and using the spear as a brake, he made it down to the foot of the now collapsing structure without severe injury.

Rolling away and breaking into a dead run along the wall, he made his best efforts to go around the attacking firebenders, but they split up to cut off his escape. In no time at all, with their fast mounts and numbers, he was pinned to the wall. _Here comes the roasting... the universe taking it's revenge by turning me into cooked meat._

Instead of a volley of fire, however, one of the soldiers lobbed a round bomb towards him, quickly spewing smoke as it flew in the air. _Smoke?_

Sokka took a deep breath and held it, batted the bomb back towards his attackers with the wide blade of his spear, and then followed it in as it completely broke apart and sprayed smoke at the rhino sled team in the center. He dove through the smoke on the other end and let out his breath, lungs now burning for fresh air, his muscles screaming for rest, but his survival instinct forcing him on.

He would get Katara, if she was still home, and anyone else left in the village that might fight. It was a mistake to send everyone out to that ship... that was the trap. A trap set for him, this time, and not his sister. _But I'm not any easier to take, jerkbenders._

Looking behind, he saw two rhinos and the attached sleds coming at him, much faster than he could hope to run. The sled he returned the bomb to was immobilized, and everyone attached to it was out cold. He turned forward again, observed the open snowscape he was sprinting in, and saw little he could use to his advantage.

That is, until he saw his sister whoosh out of their house like an icy comet and turn right towards him. In moments, she was at his side, then beyond him. Before he could even turn around, he heard the all too familiar sound of cracking ice and whirling water. When he did finally turn, his attackers were immobilized in irregular blobs of ice, the komodo-rhinos were freed of their harnesses and walking in panicky circles, and the launchers were all diced up into scrap. Katara was panting heavily, and she turned towards her brother.

"Sokka, I'm going to help Dad now. You're not stopping me."

"I know, but I'm going too. Think I can hitch a ride on one of your magic ice sleds?"

"Sokka, it is not... yes, fine. Come on."

Sokka hung on for dear life as Katara formed a frozen facsimile of a canoe and launched them at high speed out of the harbor. Crossing the gates and heading out to sea, Sokka took out his spyglass again to see how the battle was going out there.

It was not going at all. The Fire Nation ship was gone, but a plume of smoke could be seen around the bend of the frozen shoreline. The skimmers and Hakoda's ship were heading back in the direction of the village. They caught up with Pakku first.

"What happened? We saw a tower go down!"

"I was in it," Sokka explained hastily, "but they couldn't get me. Oh and Katara helped."

His sister growled.

"What happened to the Fire Nation ship?" Sokka asked.

"We damaged it some, then they suddenly fell into retreat. They had some explosives rigged around the corner of that glacier to cover their escape. Then we saw fire at the village, thought it best to not to chase them."

"A handful of soldiers snuck in through the incomplete part of the wall behind the village hall. At first I thought they were just going to blast everything, but they were coming right at me, with sleeping gas instead of fireballs."

"Another capture attempt? Why would they want you?" Katara shot into the conversation.

"Hey, I'm worth capturing too! I think. Why us though? There is definitely nothing random about these attacks."

"Well, we can ask the soldiers I froze in town. I'm sure they'll talk."

"I don't know if it will be as easy as getting information about the Earth Rumble from two dumb boys, but it's worth a shot."

But when they returned to the village, the soldiers were all gone, and nothing remained but a sleeping komodo-rhino and some broken equipment. Sokka took little solace in that they did not have time to cause much damage on the way out.

* * *

Night had fallen. Toph sat at the dinner table with her parents for the first time in many months. Despite herself, she made her best efforts to meet her parents halfway. She bathed meticulously. She allowed one of the servants to brush out her hair and fix it back into a neat bun. She wore a dress instead of her comfortable traveling tunic. She even wore slippers, since it did not make a difference to her in this house. She ate with the grace and dignity expected of nobility.

It wasn't so bad really. Her parents folded on some issues as well.

After being shown into her mother's studio earlier that afternoon, things had just been a blur. Poppy dropped whatever small thing she was working on, and it definitely broke on the floor, although Toph had no idea what it might have been. There were tears and apologies on both sides, and an attempt to tell what had happened and why, but the words would just not come, and so they held each other for a long time.

Her father, after returning home from meeting with Gaoling's provincial government, reacted a bit differently. In turn, so did she. There were no tears and no apologies, almost no words at all, but her father embraced her with a sense of desperation, as if to confirm she was real, and he told her he would listen this time.

She told them she ran away to teach Aang, but also to live a life beyond her prison-like home. She told them of battles with Dai Li, with killer Fire Nation girls that became allies, of giant drills, of airships. She told them how she could bend metal, and demonstrated by warping a fireplace poker. She told them how she conned con-men out of piles of gold.

Her parents seemed to be nearly fainting, so she switched to softer things. She told them how she could see things without her eyes. That she made great friends. That she learned some new dances. That she toured Ba Sing Se. That she knew the best tea shop in the world was there, and many other things. Then she felt it was time for her parents to speak, and waited patiently.

"Toph, will you... be staying with us... for awhile?" Poppy asked.

"She certainly won't be taking off again-" Lao started.

"Dad! I thought you said-"

"-unless she asks politely first, and has a proper escort." he finished.

"Proper escort? Come on!" Toph grinned a moment, but became serious quickly, "I don't want to make you guys worry about me, but I have an obligation to my friends and the world now. Aang should be flying down here in a few weeks, I think. He still hasn't mastered earthbending to my satisfaction, and I'm sure there's plenty more peacekeeping to be done."

"Oh." her mother mumbled, dejected.

"I'll write, or um, have someone write, messages to you guys at least once a week, ok? And I'll use couriers that aren't stupid birds. And when things quiet down a bit, I'll stay for a long time, I promise. I... missed you."

"We missed you too, Toph... and you'll take some guards with you." Lao added.

"Dad, the last guys you sent to look after me weren't exactly quality material. I think I'm much safer with the Avatar."

"Last guys?" Poppy asked. Lao coughed a bit.

"Dad sent Xin Fu and Master Yu to bring me home, but they intended to do it like bounty hunters with a metal prison box."

"Lao!" Poppy shouted.

"It's okay Mom, Dad was just... doing what he thought he needed to do to protect me. Besides, I learned metalbending that way." Toph would have to bring her mother outside so she could see her better. She had changed so much. Spoke out. Made cool things. Maybe it was there all along, something that only bubbled to the surface when her running away pushed her over the edge. Toph was not sure she felt good about the circumstances, but she certainly enjoyed her Mom being more of a presence at home.

A muted and periodic whooshing could be heard not far from the estate, though perhaps only with her acute hearing. It sounded like someone gently blowing on a lit candle, without extinguishing it, only it was a very large candle.

Toph recognized the sound of war balloon burners immediately. "Oh, not here!" Toph stood from her seat and started kicking off her shoes.

"Toph, what is it?" Lao said.

"War balloons. I can hear them, and they're close. They're after me. I thought I lost them but they must have known where I was going." Toph slapped her forehead. "I have to lead them away from here!"

"Toph, wait, let the guards handle-" An explosion thundered outside. Orange light spilled in from the windows, but Toph only felt the rumble of it. Shouting could be heard around the property. Toph knew her way around the house from memory, and hoped her parents had not moved any furniture around (they never did before, for her sake). In no time at all she was out the front door and on solid earth, trying to ignore the protests of her parents from within the house.

Again, she could not see her attackers, but merely guess their rough position in the air. Having had time to think about this sort of problem, she opted for an improved 'spray and pray' technique. Instead of lobbing a series of heavy stone projectiles into the air, she took a large, dense chunk of granite and broke it down into a heap of jagged pebbles. She then took this heap and shot them forward towards where she last heard fire hissing. Like a wide swarm of angry wasps, her attack sailed towards a war balloon.

She heard a roar, felt some heat, but no ripping fabric, no stone ricocheting off the burner, no hot air hissing from newly punctured holes. _Great, small rocks won't get through a wall of fire, and it's too unlikely I'll hit them with bigger rocks. Haven't I done something like this before?_

A guard ran up to her, panting. "Miss Bei Fong, you must get back inside, we'll hold the balloons off. I'm sure the Gaoling garrison can see this, they'll be here soon."

She acknowledged him with a blind glance, but shook her head. "Not soon enough! I can help, but I need a spotter to help me hit these things. How many are there?"

"Five. All loaded with firebenders. What am I doing? Your father will be furious... actually, he is already furious, I can see him at the front door. Please, come with me, quickly!"

A jet of flame erupted from a low flying balloon, burning a swath in the yard between Toph and her father, before he dove back to the relative security of his home. But now the house was on fire, and Toph's family was no safer indoors than outside. A voice, sharp, middle-aged, and female, bellowed from above her.

"Toph Bei Fong, surrender or we will raze this estate until it is but ashes along with your family! If you come quietly, we'll put out these fires and be on our way! You have ten seconds to answer!"

Toph could feel the heat, the crackle of her home beginning to warp and burn, her mother screaming from inside. Before she could muster a response, she heard a familiar and very welcome bestial roar. _Appa_.

* * *

Aang saw the Fire Nation war balloons circling the Bei Fong estate like buzzard-wasps anticipating a meal. Except these soulless creatures belched flame at regular intervals.

Still, there was a silver lining: were it not for these fires, Aang would not have been able to see much of the estate at all. He could tell Toph was safe, for the moment, and he intended to keep it that way.

Leaping from Appa's head and deploying his glider, Aang shot himself forward with a combination of air and fire, his monk vestments billowing from the sudden draft. Four of the balloons reacted, the burners bringing them higher up and turning, and fireballs rained towards him.

He banked hard to the right, and Aang returned his own fire against the slower and bulky targets, striking a few and burning holes into the fabric. Not quite enough to drop them instantly but enough to force them down for an unscheduled landing.

Aang turned back to the left, towards the fifth balloon, which was now clearly leading a retreat into the nearby foothills, streaking fire in his general direction. The other four joined with it although two were steadily losing altitude. Appa glided back and forth, kicking gales of wind towards the retreating balloons, breaking up and deflecting the fireballs away from the already burning residence. Momo sat on his head, screeching and flailing his tiny winged arms, as if he were in control of the furry beast.

Glancing down, Aang saw Toph and one of the guards flinging wads of moist dirt at her house in an attempt to suffocate the flames, but they head spread too far now. He dove down and landed right at her feet.

"Ah! Twinkletoes! I'm so glad you decided to drop by early. Did you get those losers?"

"They're running away, but let me help get these fires under control first, then we can try to catch them."

Aang closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them along with a brief flash of white light. He drew a great sphere of water out of the stream running through the estate, swirled it with air, and sprayed down every fire on the house and property with a foam of snow. As he repeated this on the most stubborn fires, Toph flipped the yard fires upside-down, and eventually they managed to put out the conflagration entirely.

Unfortunately, the yard was a muddy mess and the mansion was clearly in need of major repairs.

Toph's parents walked from behind the house, looking shaken but unharmed, and nervously walked up to the two children who had just put out what seemed to be an unstoppable blaze. Poppy was pale and tight-lipped, capable only of expressing herself by taking Toph by the shoulders and squeezing her in a vice-like grip. Lao turned towards the Avatar. Appa could be seen, barely, in the limited moonlight, coming in for a landing, but Aang could see nothing of the balloons that were just attacking minutes before.

"Does this sort of thing happen... often, young Avatar?" Lao asked.

Aang, rubbing the back of his head, replied, "Well, there was a time a meteorite crashed – ow!" He rubbed the sore spot on his arm where Toph had just punched him.

"Thanks for checking up on me. Normally I'd be mad at you but it looks like we're lucky you did."

"Not luck, really. I got a message from Sokka and Katara. They were attacked by a Fire Nation ship on the way home. They're okay, but I'm making it my priority to inform these left-over guys that the war is over." He shifted uncomfortably. "I could use some help. I didn't expect to run into a siege at the Bei Fong place."

"They were after me, specifically, Aang. In fact that was the second time they tried capturing me."

Aang thought a moment. "We have to get to the south pole."

Toph turned to her parents. Lao sighed, and Poppy brought her daughter in for a hug.

"I know what will happen if I try to keep her here," Lao said with some effort, "I can't imagine a more powerful bodyguard than the Avatar, but if anything happens to her..." Aang winced.

"Dad, don't worry. If anything, I'll be the one making sure _he_ doesn't get hurt." She looked down. "I'm sorry I have to go again so soon."

Her mother, now able to break her silence, spoke up. "Please, at least come in and finish dinner, rest a bit, and pack properly. I think the dining room is, ah, still intact. Mostly."

* * *

War Minister Qin tapped his fingers nervously upon the metal railing lining the forward deck of Azula's ship. The morning sun, normally a source of invigorating energy for any firebender, offered no comfort to him. The High General standing next to him seemed much calmer by comparison.

"War Minister, I believe we're going to have to change our plans, somewhat." Bujing stated off-handedly.

Qin stopped tapping, instead dragging his nails ineffectually across the steel bar. "Four attempts to capture at least one of the Avatar's friends, all disasters. Each time, due to a critical piece of information our volunteer scouts failed to provide us with. Powerful earthbenders with the blind brat. A Water Tribe mine launcher with bizarre munitions. The waterbending girl who we were assured would be out with her fellow benders instead stays home during an attack. Worst of all, the Avatar being able to receive a message that all the above had happened in the first place! Yes, we are absolutely going to have to change our plans!"

"What do you suggest?"

"We cannot extort non-interference from the Avatar now. We'll have to try to keep him busy while we go ahead with our plans in the Fire Nation. If we do this right, we'll have the proper people back in charge."

"I still don't understand why we're bothering with Ozai and his daughter. Ozai is powerless, and his daughter is out of her mind. Why do we need them?"

"Ozai is a clever man, but more importantly he gives legitimacy to our position. The people will rally under his name, but not under mere generals. I agree with you on Azula, but Ozai insists she still may be useful. We shall see."

"The Avatar will hear of our activities eventually, what's to stop him from overthrowing us again?"

"Bujing, the Avatar's purpose is to promote peace and balance between the nations. If we seize control quickly, and announce we have no intentions on attacking other countries, he has no authority to act against us. If he does, there will be riots. The people of the Fire Nation will call him a dictator. We could spread that paranoia to the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes with the proper influence. No, he would not be able to act, and once we're back in control, we can start drafting a means of getting that damned child out of the way, permanently."

"And of our current Fire Lord?"

"Try capture, and we may have leverage over the Avatar after all. If not, well, we cannot risk having competition for the throne. You know what to do."

Bujing bowed. "I'll depart immediately."


	7. Connections

Chapter 7: Connections

"Just like old times, right Captain?" Zuko said, just before he swung his heel down at the packed earth of the royal training grounds to extend a vertical arc of flame towards his sparring opponent.

Jee strengthened and lowered his stance to meet the arc with the palms of his hands, pushing the flames up and away as if passing a Kuai ball, before spinning on one heel to deliver a fiery kick of his own. Zuko simply sidestepped it.

"It is sort of nostalgic, Lord Zuko," he paused to launch another sheet of flame, "though much is different now."

Zuko punched a quick flurry of fireballs. Jee dodged them without too much effort; their distance still allowed ample time to move.

"Well, yes. I'm Fire Lord now, you're a captain... we're not on a little metal ship chasing the Avatar... and we're just sparring instead of threatening Agni Kai..."

Jee stepped forward and swung his arm low, from back to front, as if scooping a fistful of dirt. With this motion, a large caterpillar of orange light and intense heat swept along the ground. Zuko stomped it out in one heavy step.

"I am fortunate General Iroh intervened before things... got out of hand. You had already defeated Admiral Zhao in a duel, and I believe he was a superior firebender to myself."

Zuko relaxed for a moment and raised one eyebrow.

"Zhao was superior in his own fantasy world. I think you could have taken him."

"You flatter me, my l-"

"And also, Jee, please stop with the... what do they call it? Royal decorum. In mixed company, I can understand it's sort of a necessary tradition. Here though, we're just two benders." Zuko stopped to look around, as if noticing his environment for the first time. "Two benders who happen to be on the most meticulously groomed training grounds in our nation. I made you Captain of the Guard for your skills, honesty, and regard for lives... not your manners." He finished with a smirk.

Jee replied with a grin, "of course, Lord Zuko. In that case, might I also point out that you're no longer flinging fire around like a child throws a tantrum; that's perhaps the biggest change of all."

Zuko frowned. "Well, I did ask for honesty, I guess." The young leader strode forward and crossed his arms over his chest, then immediately uncrossed his arms in a wide slashing motion, unleashing twin curtains of flame. Jee managed to dissipate both waves but the second made him stumble a bit. The two were much closer now; Zuko saw this opportunity and slid his foot along the ground to cast another low jet of fire, and Jee lost his root completely in an effort to stall the attack.

"As I pointed out," Jee said, "I'm glad Iroh kept us from doing something regrettable, though I imagine I'd have been on the worse end of it."

Zuko helped his Captain onto his feet. "Don't sell yourself short. I have to admit, I've grown a lot stronger and my skills have improved a lot since my time on the ship... I was not this far along even a few months ago. My first fight against Zhao could have gone either way, honestly. The second one too."

"You dueled him twice?"

"The second time wasn't an Agni Kai, it was just a fight during the northern siege... and the water spirit took him out while we were fighting."

"I see." Zuko started walking towards the palace, Jee followed along side him.

"I still have a long way to go though. The Fire Lord has to be, among other things, a symbol of strength. I don't want to rule by fear as my family has for so long, but I have begun to realize I can't be too soft either. It's softness that may have led to this trouble with the missing council members in the first place."

"I think that was inevitable, Lord Zuko. Some men will always fear and resist change." Jee stretched his arms a bit. "On that note, have you decided on a course of action?"

Zuko paused at the edge of the courtyard. "Well, according to what Mai told me, it's unlikely my sister is involved in any of this, though I'm still keeping an eye on her. Suki and her warriors got some information on the missing cruiser, but nothing concrete. We know they went northeast after crossing the Gates of Azulon, and another small frigate fell into formation as they left the bay, but that's all. The direction, as you know, seems to be in direct conflict with what my father mentioned about the secret naval base in the southern mainland."

"If this base was their destination, it would make sense to try and mislead pursuers by heading in the opposite direction until they got far enough out to sea. Then they could double back at night, running dark."

Zuko nodded. "I've sent scouts to the location he described, we'll see what they turn up. If there is any activity, it has not been reported to me, and we'll have to look into it regardless. I want to inspect all of my father's lingering projects personally." He sighed. "Hold on, I want to try something."

The teenager turned back towards the training grounds and took a long, slow, calming breath before shaking his hands out and dropping into a balanced stance. He extended his fore and middle fingers together on each hand, and began moving his arms as if drawing invisible circles in the air. He tried focusing on the positive and negative energy – separating them. He could feel a tingle as the energy began moving around, remembering that he cannot control it, but only humbly guide it. Then he shot one hand forward to release the energy of the technique along its destined path.

As a result – an explosion, at point blank range, right at his fingertips, just like most every attempt before.

Unlike some of his earlier tries, however, Zuko had learned how to handle the backfire from a failed attempt to generate lightning. Instead of being flung backwards and prone, possibly singeing his clothes or hair, he just slid backwards a few yards on his feet, carving two shallow ruts into the dirt. The force of the blast pushed him back, but he kept the flames at bay. Jee wore an expression of genuine confusion.

"That was... unusual firebending." Jee said.

Zuko ran his hands through his hair and groaned. "It was supposed to be lightning. Uncle said what prevented me from doing it before was inner conflict. I guess helping the Avatar end the war wasn't enough to clear that conflict away."

He stared at the ground. "I don't feel conflicted though. Sure, I still have plenty of work to do, there's still a lack of balance in the world to address, but I don't feel like I'm at war with myself anymore. I'm doing the right things. I don't get it."

"Perhaps there is more to it? I admit I tried the technique when I was younger, but I didn't get an explosion; I got nothing at all, as would be expected."

"Well, some think bloodline is part of it, but unless I was adopted that shouldn't be a factor." Zuko paused for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. "My father and sister can do it, so should I."

* * *

Aang slouched on Appa's head, idly petting the flying bison with one hand and patting Momo, who was perched on his knee, with the other. The trip to the Southern Water Tribe should have ended nearly an hour ago, but Aang and Toph had run into some unexpected difficulty. Now they were flying in lazy circles somewhere in the southern glacial seas.

"I still can't believe you got lost, Twinkle Toes." Toph said from upon the saddle behind him.

"It's not my fault! Everything looks different from last time! The summer must have melted a lot of ice and shifted things around. None of the landmarks are the same."

"You're the Avatar, aren't you supposed to know everything?"

"Toph, just because I'm the Avatar – wait, that's it!"

"You see it?"

"No, but I know how to find them. I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!"

Aang leaped off Appa, sending Momo chattering to find a new perch on Toph's head. The tattooed boy dove straight down towards an ice field broken by veins of water and deployed his glider only at the last few seconds to slow his decent. A few tight circles brought him down on a little frozen island stable enough to support his modest weight. He twirled his glider closed and dropped to one knee.

_Everything is connected._

Besides being able to bend all four elements and trigger a state which made his bending a thousand times more powerful, his Avatar spirit afforded him some other unique abilities. He could cross into the spirit realm at will. He could speak with past lives. He could communicate with feral spirits simply by touching them.

The power he was going to employ here, however, was something he had only managed once before, in Foggy Swamp. There, with the ambient energy of a massive spiritual tree, he was able to find Appa from a considerable distance through a maze of swampland. He intuitively knew how to identify his animal companion by his unique spiritual... texture. Aang did not know what else to call it. He had not been able to perform the feat since, but now he had control of the Avatar state.

_Katara, Sokka... I know you're not too far._

Aang shut his eyes as his tattoos glowed. Using a vision that was closer to sensing vibrations in the earth than using one's eyes, Aang traced a spiritual line west, then south, then west again. He hopped over a few floes, past a mountain of ice, and over a snowy plain... and there was the village. He was relieved to find both of the siblings, whose spirits he was now also deeply connected with, in good health, if he interpreted things correctly. With renewed enthusiasm, Aang snapped open his glider and returned to Appa.

"You know, you could have said 'Hey Toph, I'm going to abandon you on a flying fluff-ball for a few minutes' instead of just jumping off like that."

Toph pouted from the saddle, although Aang could see her hands were only now loosening from a death grip along the edge of woodwork. He now vaguely recalled her yelling his name as he dove off Appa.

"Sorry Toph. I know where we're going now though; it's actually only a short distance away! Appa, yip yip!"

A short while later, after Aang explained to an irate Toph how he suddenly knew where to go, Appa landed right in the middle of the village. Aang stood on the frozen ground and spun around slowly, taking in how much had changed. All the buildings were solid, there was an inner harbor with a few boats, and off towards the sea were two spires keeping watch over the front gates. From one spire charged a blue blur, kicking up a cloud of light snow.

"Aang!" Katara yelled as she approached, skating effortlessly along the snow. In moments she ceased her technique and in dove into his arms, and the pair embraced each other fiercely. With only a moment of hesitation, he brought her into a tender kiss, and when the euphoria abated a little, Aang noticed he did not have to turn his head up to meet her lips this time.

"I missed you, Katara."

"I missed you too, Aang." She paused a moment and smiled, holding him at arms length. "You got taller."

Aang scratched the back of his head. "I guess a lot can change in a month." Aang smiled back, but then his mood dimmed a little. "I got your letter. You're okay, right?"

"I'm fine, don't-"

Toph dropped off Appa and landed right between them. Her footing, usually perfect, failed on the ice, and she immediately fell face-first. Aang spared her an injury with a quick gust of air and settled the petite girl back on her feet. Then he noticed her attire.

As part of his monk discipline, his was trained to endure harsh climates, and did not need quite as heavy clothing others would in this cold. Toph, on the other hand, had never been to a place covered in snow and ice.

Her mother had packed a fur coat and cap for her, which she refused to wear... until now. Aang stifled a laugh. It was a tad ostentatious and very... fluffy.

"Toph! I can't believe you're here too!" Katara snapped the small girl up in a hug, seeming not to notice the thick brown furs. "I thought you were staying in Ba Sing Se?"

"Actually, I went to see my parents."

"Oh good! How did it go?"

"I think it went okay, until some goons in war balloons started torching my house. That's when Aang showed up." Toph clapped one fist into an open palm. "I hope they're being eaten by mountain goat-lions right now."

"You were attacked too?" Katara asked.

"Twice." Toph replied.

"So were we, just yesterday the same ship that hit us at sea attacked the village." Sokka's voice came in from behind Aang.

"Sokka!" Both Aang and Toph shouted in unison.

"Glad to see you're both here," Sokka said while grabbing each of them in a one-armed hug. Momo landed on his shoulder. "You too Momo... and you Appa." Appa bellowed a greeting but seemed too tired to follow it up with his tongue.

"I came as soon as I got your message," Aang said.

"I knew you would. I sent a note to Zuko too, to advise him on what's been going on." Sokka glanced to the side for a moment, and continued. "So... Toph was attacked twice, we were attacked twice. In our case, I'm pretty sure they were looking to take us prisoner."

"How do you know?" Aang asked.

"Well, instead of spears and fireballs they're using gas bombs and sleeping poison. Kind of different from the usual Fire Nation 'burn it all!' methods."

"They were using gas bombs the first time I was attacked too." Toph added.

Sokka looked at the blind girl for a few seconds longer than was necessary before turning back to Aang. His face seemed to quiver slightly. "Any other attacks you're aware of?"

"No, but I'm going to get to the bottom of it." Aang replied.

"Good, we're... we're going... going with...you..." Sokka seemed unable to finish the sentence. With one last sidelong glance at Toph, he burst out laughing. "I can't! I can't hold it back anymore! Toph, you look like a baby badgermole! It's adorable and hilarious! It's adoralarious!"

Toph flushed red (Aang couldn't tell if it was more anger or embarrassment) and made an obvious earthbending gesture with her feet. The realization that she had nothing to bend only caused the laughter to spread to her other friends. Despite Toph's best efforts to remain indignant, the humor spread to her as well, and she joined in on the joke at her expense.

"Okay, okay guys, laugh it up. I knew I shouldn't have trusted my mom to pack reasonable clothing for me."

Nursing her now sore sides, Katara managed to get herself back together as she scrutinized Toph's feet. "Toph, are you barefoot? You'll lose your toes! Tell me you brought boots!"

Toph just shrugged. "I guess my toes are starting to get kinda numb."

Before his sister could erupt into a lecture, Sokka spoke up. "Katara, you finished fixing the tower right?"

Katara nodded, eyes still on Toph's feet.

"Let's all get inside to warm up and eat then." Sokka said as he led Appa towards his family home.

* * *

"Mother, these puzzles are infuriating me." Azula said as she sat on the floor of her small room. Staring at the stone floor, she periodically tapped at it with a mitten-covered hand. After a few moments, she furrowed her brow.

"Yes, I like the challenge, but it's hard to work with these restraints on."

She leaned down to slide her elbow along the floor, all the while breathing an exasperated sigh.

"The pieces don't even keep their shape! How am I supposed to finish this if every time I match edge pieces they lose their flat side when I take my eyes away?"

The princess pounded both hands on the ground.

"See! It happened again!" she hissed, as she attempted to point at the ground without exposed fingers.

Azula then crossed her arms and pouted.

"Oh shut up, you're not even real anyway; you didn't use the door."

Azula turned to the corner her phantom mother had been inhabiting lately and found she was no longer there. Instead, the wall was lined with blue jigsaw pieces. The same pieces she was working with on the floor. _Great, not only do they change shape and appear randomly, but the pieces move of their own will too!_ Standing quickly, she strode over the corner and inspected her new workspace.

Taking a different approach, she decided to watch the pieces and not try to move them. She could be patient. Eventually they would get bored or perhaps fall asleep, and then she could put the image together without their mischievous interference.

For a brief moment, something about the situation struck Azula as... odd. She could not quite grasp what it was. With a mental shrug, she turned her attention back to the pieces on the wall, which were already in motion. They did not seem to notice or care that they were being observed in action now. In minutes, hundreds of fragments came to order and locked into each other, gradually displaying a great wave crashing against a rocky coast in dim moonlight. Everything was a shade of blue.

The image conjured up flashes of memory. Family trips to the beach from a time when things seemed so much... brighter. Her journey to the Earth Kingdom, with her own ship, which was her first time leaving the homeland. The more recent trip to Ember Island with... _the traitors._

Suddenly, the waves didn't seem like a natural phenomenon on the painted image in front of her, but rather a product of unnatural intervention. The water was being bended, smashing against the shore with terrifying power enhanced by the glow of the moon. In the corner of the image, she could make out a dark silhouette riding atop one crest of the aggressive liquid. _That... tribal trash. That Water Tribe peasant. How could that little commoner have beaten me?_

"Because you are weak, Azula."

Azula spun around with a gasp. "Father?"

"Yes."

"No, you didn't come through-"

"Silence! You asked a question; I will answer it." Ozai seemed to be growing bigger, somehow. "You lost because you were weak, Azula. What other explanation is there? You had the power of the comet. You're a firebending prodigy. You should have been capable of incinerating twenty waterbending masters at once!" Ozai seemed to dominate the room now, his voice booming. "Alas, you failed. I never should have trusted you with the crown."

Azula blinked back tears. "Well, what about you? You failed too! You were brought down by a mere child!"

The ghostly Ozai roared in anger and exploded in a wave of fire. Azula instinctively moved to deflect the waves before realizing she could feel no heat, nor protect herself even if the explosion was real.

Lowering her guard revealed just an empty corner. Turning back to the puzzle-wall slowly, she saw the pieces had now fallen to the floor in the corner, and had changed to mostly red and brown. Glad to be spared from images of water and the wailing of her not-quite-father, she watched the pieces gather into a new picture.

_Well, this is hardly fun now, I don't even have to do anything._

This time, the image was a bowl of cherries. It looked so real, she was tempted to try and eat one. Dropping to her covered hands and knees, Azula crawled closer to the painted image, but as she did, she noticed something peculiar about the cherries. They weren't entirely normal. They were wrinkled, and had dark and light spots. They didn't look as red as they should. In fact, they looked almost... pink. And then all of the cherries opened their mouths.

"Azula, you should not have sent us away!" chanted the bowl of Lo and Li heads.

Azula managed only the whimpering start of a scream before passing out.

* * *

The wind whistled gently between the gap in the frozen wall and through the alley behind the village hall. Aang listened to its gentle song as he gathered up a big glob of snow and began to shape it into a block of ice. In the reflection glinting off his work as it shifted from water to ice, he watched Katara quickly patch several holes in the back of the public building.

Aang just stared at her image for a moment, admiring everything he could see. She swayed her arms about, the movements simultaneously graceful and commanding. She was truly at one with her element, and Aang found himself mildly annoyed that so much of the subtle motions in her form were now obscured by a heavy coat. Seeing her about to finish that particular task, he snapped back to his own work and shook the thoughts away.

"You know, this is kind of nice." Aang said as he slid the final block of ice into place to complete the wall.

"The wall?" Katara asked as she bended packed snow into a low spot on the ground.

"Well, that too, but I meant using bending for something constructive."

Katara smiled. "You know, I was thinking the same thing the other day." She walked over to him. "You know what I think is nice?"

Aang grinned. "What?"

"Working on it together, with you." Katara said before quickly planting a light kiss on his cheek.

Aang took her gloved hand in his and admired their work. "I couldn't agree more. And we'll have plenty of opportunity in Taku."

"The merchant city you mentioned at lunch?"

"That's the one, although I don't know if the construction has progressed much beyond clearing the ruins yet. I guess we'll see when we get there."

"What about the Fire Nation ship?"

"I figure we can go up along the south and east Earth Kingdom coast and look for them, then drop by in Ba Sing Se to warn General Hao. Taku is just west of that."

Katara moved closer to him. "It'll be nice traveling together on Appa again. I didn't realize how much I'd miss it."

Aang nodded and observed the wall again. He cocked his head slightly as a little smile crept onto his lips. He extended one finger towards the wall and swirled it around in the air. A little carving emerged in the wall, characters forming Aang and Katara's names, and the symbol for love. Katara blushed and leaned her head against Aang's shoulder.

"You know, that works better if you could find rock... or a tree. But good luck with that out here."

The young couple jumped in tandem and turned to regard Hakoda, who was wearing an amused expression on his face.

"Dad! What are you sneaking up on us for?" Katara huffed.

Hakoda laughed kindly. "Sneaking? I could have came up riding a mammoth squid and you two would not have noticed! I just came by to tell you I received a message from Chief Arnook. He intends to visit in a month or so along with several others. It'll be the first New Moon Celebration our tribes have had in almost a century. I hope you will all be back here in time for it." Hakoda seemed to direct the last portion towards Aang with a dark intonation.

"We won't miss it mister, uh, Chief... sir. Hakoda." Aang stammered.

Hakoda raised his eyebrows, ever so slowly, before responding.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Sokka should be done gathering supplies for your trip soon. You two be good." And with that, he strolled away smiling. Aang let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"What the heck was that?!" he asked.

"Dad's sense of humor... don't worry, he's only messing with you." Katara said as she leveled a cool glare in the direction of her retreating father. Aang relaxed a bit more.

"It's funnier when Sokka does the jokes."

* * *

Suki winced as Ty Lee poked the bicep on her right arm, which was wrapped in bandages like the rest of her arm.

"Does that hurt?" the newest Kyoshi Warrior asked.

"Yes! Please stop!"

"Well, that's why you have to stay behind, Suki, you can't expect to be asked on a raid with injuries like that." Mai stated.

"Plus, your boyfriend would probably go totally crazy if Zuko let you take any more risks until you got better." Ty Lee added.

Suki sighed. "He'll already go crazy if he hears about this. At least the burn will heal without scarring, it's just sensitive. Other than that, I just have a sprained ankle. And a bruised rib... and... okay, fine, you're both right." Suki slumped in defeat. "Still, I've had worse. Ever dislocate your shoulder? Not fun having it popped back in, let me tell you."

Mai shuddered. The three girls were seated around a small, low table, enjoying some tea in a private chamber of the royal palace. Never one to be particularly interested in idle conversation, she couldn't help but make an exception for present company.

"I've never broken or dislocated anything, but I do have a scar from when one of my wrist dart launchers malfunctioned."

Ty Lee snapped her head around so fast, Mai felt certain the red curtains shifted. "You never told me that Mai!"

"It was a couple years ago, after you went to the circus. Pretty stupid mistake on my part really. A dart got jammed and I thought slapping my wrist against my thigh would fix it." Mai shrugged. "Well, it fixed it, right into the opposite leg."

"Ouch." Suki grimaced.

"Can we see it?" Ty Lee asked.

Mai seemed slightly put off by the request. "It's on my left inner thigh, kind of... high up. Not something I could show to you and still maintain a level of noble decency. It's not very spectacular anyway, just a little mark from the puncture wound. You won't believe how embarrassing it was to have the physicians take care of me though."

"Embarrassing?! Who cares! That must have hurt and bled like crazy!" Suki said.

"Oh, yes, that too." Mai nodded slightly.

"Ooh, ooh! I have one too!" Ty Lee squealed. "Before I was doing the high wire act at the circus, I had this little show where I would flip around in this big dome thing made of a bunch of random metal bars put together. It was really twisty. So anyway, one of the bars came loose one day, and I fell into some of the other bars, and it really hurt, and then I hit the ground and it really hurt even more. When I woke up, the circus doctor told me I broke a toe, two fingers, and my nose, and probably fractured a bunch of other things. I was so bruised... my skin was all black and blue and yellow and it was really gross. Oh and I couldn't really move for a week. It was soooo boring!"

After a moment of processing Ty Lee's rapidly blurted story, Mai conceded the acrobat definitely trumped a dart in leg with a fall through a metal deathtrap. Suki's persisting wince seemed to agree.

"I guess we should all be glad none of us have had any serious permanent injuries," Suki said, and then added, "and make sure you two keep it that way."

The Fire Nation girls raised their tea cups in silent agreement.

* * *

Sokka pushed his rabbit tile three spaces towards the center of the board, effectively cutting off the assault from Pakku's creeping vines tile. Without removing his finger from the game piece, he looked up and studied Pakku's face for a response. Finding no help there, he removed his finger and hoped.

"Hmmmm." Pakku hummed, the sound echoing slightly in the family den.

"Can I do that?" Sokka asked, preparing for another verbal backhand.

"Yes, you can do that." Pakku stroked his beard. He studied the board closely. Sokka's features brightened immediately.

"Was it a good move?"

"The rabbit is quite good at stopping the vines."

"So... do I win?"

Pakku paused briefly.

"No."

Sokka groaned as Pakku slid his nearby tortoise tile next to the rabbit. Then he moved the rabbit five spaces off to the side.

"How can you move my piece like that? I thought the turtle was just for blocking things."

"Normally yes, but when placed next to the hare, I can move it five spaces in any direction of my choosing. The tortoise challenges him to a race."

"What?! That's dumb, the rabbit would obviously win." Sokka gestured wildly.

"Perhaps, but the tortoise played against his pride. Now the vines continue on unobstructed. You cannot win now."

Sokka frowned and supported his head on his knuckles.

"Still," Pakku continued, "not bad for an initiate."

Sokka sat up quickly. "You mean I'm in?"

"No, it means you're an initiate. Piandao made the offer with the lotus tile. You accepted by asking me about it... although I imagine his intention was for you to ask him. Perhaps you'll have the chance to inform him of your belated realization."

Sokka ignored the jab. "So, wasn't this game some kind of test?"

Pakku grunted, or laughed slightly... Sokka could not tell which. "No, it was just a game, Sokka. You asked for a lesson, and I obliged. Though by asking, you've already started on one aspect of initiation: to seek knowledge."

"One aspect?" Sokka looked thoughtful. "Well, how many more are there?"

"There are six. Seek knowledge, pursue truth, behold beauty, impart knowledge, share truth, and create beauty. These things make up the core of the Order, and these things must be your focus going forward. In one year, you will be called upon to present your accomplishments."

"Wasn't bringing down Ozai enough?" Sokka whined.

"Your quest with the Avatar was a massive undertaking, likely to conjure stories for generations, but this journey is of a personal nature. You are still a young man, and while you've already done more in your few years than many men do in a lifetime, you still have much growing to do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to inspect the repairs my students made. I'll be back to see you and your sister off later."

After sitting in contemplative silence for a few minutes, Sokka decided he needed to stretch his legs a bit. Suited up, he strolled around the perimeter of his house, briefly visiting Appa and Momo as they rested in a makeshift barn Aang constructed of snow.

Walking towards the part of the perimeter wall behind the barn, Sokka noticed someone had dragged a long mark as they moved along the barrier. He followed the footprints, noticing a few places where the wall had fist-sized indentations and other spots where the footprints had been stretched and the ground disturbed. It wasn't long before he stumbled across Toph sitting against the wall, curled up into a little blue ball. At least Katara had managed to find a more practical coat for her, and it looked like it fit fairly well. As he approached, she looked up, but not even in his general direction.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"It's me Toph... what are you doing out here by yourself?"

"What? Can't I go for a walk if I want?"

Sokka grinned. "Looks like you were doing more than just walking."

"Oh shut up! You know what? This place stinks. The only thing I can see is this." Toph unfolded her arms to reveal her meteor bracelet, which she started morphing into various random shapes, none of which looked particularly friendly. Sokka sat down next to her.

"I grew up here, you know. It's a tough place, but it makes tough people. I thought you'd appreciate that a bit more." He gave her a little nudge with his elbow. Sokka thought she might have flashed a tiny smile.

"It's so frustrating though. No earth at all, no metal, no crystals. Here I really am just a helpless little blind girl. I can't wait to leave."

"Maybe next time you can bring a bunch of dirt with you," Sokka said.

Toph did not look like she got the joke. "Actually, that's not a bad idea."

"Toph, I was just-"

"Maybe gravel everywhere. Something that wouldn't wash away easily..."

"Toph, you are not burying my home in pebbles!"

She laughed. "Gotcha, Snoozles."

"Oh... one of these days..."

Toph ignored his empty threat. "Still, I think we're on to something. Maybe I could bring a couple pounds to mark corners and walkways and stuff. I can sense purer earths without direct contact."

"That... sounds reasonable, actually. Next time you visit, it'll be taken care of," Sokka said.

"Thanks, Meathead."

"Maybe something more permanent. A mineral... ink underneath the snow layer? Could you see that?"

"I don't even know what 'mineral ink' is."

"I don't either... ink with minerals in it. I just made it up."

Toph 'stared' at him.

Sokka stared back.

"You're crazy."

"So they say of all geniuses."


	8. In Plain Sight

Chapter 8: In Plain Sight

The small birds native to the Fire Nation mainland heralded the brightening morning with their song, while the sun burned away the dew of night. The great orb, source of light and warmth, was only half over the horizon yet, and much of the capital city was still shrouded in grayish shadow. In contrast, along the high catwalks of the capital garrison's airship platform, the sun cast rays of orange light, illuminating some of the morning mists and bouncing painfully bright glare off the occasional polished metal curve. Mai shielded her eyes.

"Orange is such a dreadful color." she said with a sigh.

Walking alongside her, Ty Lee smiled. "Oh Mai, there is nothing wrong with orange! I think it's pretty."

"You think everything is pretty."

"I think everything _can_ be pretty, Mai."

Mai inclined her head at what may have been a cutting jab from her friend. _No, not Ty Lee, don't be silly. _"You won't think it's so pretty when it burns out your eyes," she replied.

"Oh pfft. Stop staring at the sun then!"

"Nevermind, Ty, we're here."

Mai and Ty Lee stopped and looked up at their transport: one of the few intact military airships left at the Fire Lord's disposal. Zuko knew that some were missing, along with their crews, and he did not even know where they were originally manufactured. Information, especially military information, was becoming increasingly difficult for him to obtain. Mai hoped it was due to officials' cowardice or ignorance, and not because there were more people against his leadership than was originally apparent.

As the two girls strolled up the gangplank to board the ship, Mai tapped at her long, dark sleeves, checking for probably the twentieth time that her dart launchers were tucked away and ready. She was wearing her traditional garb, so chosen long ago to conceal many weapons, make it difficult to tell where her body was in the loose fabric, and also pass easily as noble attire. Ty Lee was dressed in similarly dark colors: deep reds with a few forest-green highlights, close-fitting but not restrictive, and there was even some light leather armor padded in some sections around the torso and shoulders. Mai had asked about it earlier, shocked that Ty Lee wasn't wearing pink, or at least her Kyoshi uniform, and her practical response left Mai speechless.

_ "We're sneaking into a base to fight firebenders... Kyoshi armor is still a bit heavy for me and my pink outfit is uh... kinda flammable and easy to see. Besides, I'm still wearing pink underneath." The acrobat winked. "So you like it? I had it custom tailored. It's got Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom styles..."_

Mai had zoned out at that point. Reaching the outer deck of the airship, the two women were greeted by Captain Jee with a salute, which Mai might have laughed out loud at under different circumstances. This time she only allowed herself a mild inner chuckle.

"Lady Mai, Lady Ty Lee, we're about ready to depart. The Fire Lord is on the bridge. He would like you to join him." Jee motioned for some soldiers to withdraw the gangplank. The three began walking towards the inner holds.

"Captain, I'd like to know what we're working with here. The scouts' report indicated moderate activity at the southern base, but they couldn't get inside without being spotted. Are we prepared to handle any surprises?" Mai asked. She felt a little weird asking for these details... felt she sounded a bit like Azula.

Jee nodded. "We brought up the blueprints for that base. It's an old structure, listed as abandoned in the archives. I guess that's what made it a good secret location; it's hidden in plain sight. The base is not terribly large, so even if they crammed soldiers in there, we have the numbers to match that and more. The entire 41st division is on board, and an elite swordsman unit, plus the airship crew. A little over eighty soldiers total. We also have a couple tanks and animals in the main bay."

"Wow, all that fits on this ship?" Ty Lee asked.

"Well, any more and we might not get off the ground, but yes."

Arriving at the bridge, Mai entered first to observe Zuko shaking hands with a middle-aged man. Both were wearing a full set of Fire Nation armor, without the helmet, although Zuko had apparently decided to forego his formal topknot and crown for the time being. Mai also noticed her boyfriend had his dual broadswords across his back.

The middle-aged man was a bit shorter than Zuko, but very muscular. His hair was jet black, he had a short, rough beard, and a wide scar ran horizontally across his nose from one cheek to the other. The two men each bowed to each other in the traditional Fire Nation manner, on open palm over a closed fist to mimic the shape of a single flame, and the soldier made his leave. Aside from the helmsman, there was now only Zuko and the three new arrivals on the bridge. There wasn't room for much more than that.

"Who was that, Zuko?" Ty Lee asked.

"Oh, him? He's the commanding officer of the 41st, Major Tien. Apparently he's one of the few survivors of the massacre that wiped out most of the original division. Apparently word also got around of how I got my scar. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you Captain?"

Jee seemed to stiffen slightly. "My Lord, General Iroh shared the story with us while on board your ship. During that terrible storm, if you recall. I... may have mentioned it to a few fellow soldiers over the past few months. To set the record straight, of course."

Zuko smiled briefly, then shrugged. "I only wish I could have actually prevented what happened to that man and his comrades. That look in his eyes..." Zuko sighed. "That's why we're here now, to prevent anyone else suffering the whims of warmongers. Jee, man the comm. Tell the crew to launch."

"Yes sir."

As Jee's orders rang through the network of tubes running through the ship, Zuko approached the two girls. His expression was stony, but his voice was laden with concern.

"I know I can't talk either of you out of coming, and I'd be a hypocrite to try. Just promise me you'll be careful."

Mai nodded silently. Ty Lee teared up and brought her friends into a crushing hug, almost knocking their heads together.

"We'll all watch out for each other." Ty Lee whispered.

Mai sobered herself quickly and slipped out of Ty Lee's grasp. "And I've already told you, I go where you go, Zuko. We'll fight side by side, as a team." Mai rested a finger on her chin. "Speaking of which, have you written to the Avatar... um, Aang... about this?"

Zuko shook his head. "No, this is a national issue, not a world issue. I can't call on him every time something is going wrong here; he's got plenty to do too." Already anticipating disapproval, Zuko continued quickly. "I did send a letter to Uncle though. He can tell the rest of our friends in a way that won't make them panic. Hopefully by the time it reaches them, there won't be anything to panic about."

Mai lightly tapped her wrists. "We'll make sure of it Zuko."

* * *

Aang loosely held Appa's reins as he reclined against the furry hill that was the bison's shoulders. Gazing up and sometimes across offered the same to his eyes: puffy or wispy clouds. The clouds seemed more alive and interesting today, offering images of animals and random objects, each triggering different memories.

Observing shapes in the sky was one of the Avatar's favorite hobbies, yet he could not recall the last time he had done so. All he could recollect of the last few weeks was arguments between old people and worrying about his friends and the world. His musings, however, were interrupted as the friendly chatter of his three friends on the saddle behind him began to escalate towards impatient bickering.

"Spot any renegade Fire Nation yet?" Toph asked.

"Oh for the last time, Toph, I'll be sure to let everyone know if I spot something on my side. So far I just see a lot of empty beach and the occasional bird." Katara replied.

"But I'm so_ bored_. After the stress of talking with my parents and getting attacked by a whole squadron of war balloons, this quiet floating around in the air is making me crazy! Sokka, what about your side?"

Sokka appeared to wake up from half-consciousness. "Wha-what? What about my side? Am I supposed to be looking for something?"

"Sokka, were you paying attention at all?" his sister asked.

"Well, to be honest, no. I've been thinking about what I should do for my initiation requirements. Maybe train some Northern Tribe guys with 'Sokka Style' fighting..."

"Oh, you mean 101 ways to fall flat on your face?" Toph snorted.

"Or how to hit a giant owl with an old book?" Katara added.

"Or how to run away squealing like a sheep-pig?" Toph followed it up with her best impression. "Soueee, squeeeeeeee, baaaaaaaa!"

Sokka crossed his arms. "I do _not_ sound like that!" Unfortunately, his voice cracked on the 'not', stripping his defense of all credibility. The girls fell into laughter. Sokka continued on, ignoring them. "Or maybe instead I'll work on some inventions with the Mechanist and Teo. I have some new submarine plans to show them–"

"I think your first idea was better. Your ability to illustrate things is... a little... um..." Katara trailed off.

"What? What's wrong with my illustrations?" Sokka asked.

"Nothing Snoozles, I think your drawings are just as good as any I've seen." Toph said.

"Thanks Toph, I really – Hey! Not funny!" Toph just grinned in his general direction.

"Well, I don't see why we all didn't get initiated." Katara said, her mood shifting sour.

"Maybe you're just not White Lotus material, little sister."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"I'm just saying, the White Lotus is a manly man's club. You gotta be a special blend of strength and intellect, and while your magic water is quite impressive, I think the Lotus looks for a certain... something more."

"Magic water! Manly man's club! I can't believe after all we've been through, after seeing girls like me, Toph, Mai, Ty Lee, _and Suki,_ you're still spouting your sexist macho crap! There's a lot of water down there Sokka, how much of it would you like to swallow today?"

Toph started giggling and then clamped her hands over her mouth. Katara wheeled at her, now standing upright as Appa soared along the coast.

"What's so funny Toph? Doesn't this make you mad too?"

Toph continued giggling for a few moments before responding. "Of course not, Sweetness. He's not serious, he's just pushing your buttons. And you make it so easy! Must be a family trait."

She turned back to her brother. "You're not serious?"

Sokka just shrugged. "Not really. I don't know why I was picked, but I do know that I don't want to disappoint Piandao, Pakku, or myself. I just have no idea where to start."

Katara huffed and sat down. "Well, I shouldn't expect Toph to get mad about sexist comments anyway."

Toph raised an eyebrow, then lowered it with a shrug. She turned back towards the frame of the saddle and resumed clamping onto it while the air blew past her face.

"You know, Sokka," she said moments later, "I have an idea on where to start."

The young warrior looked up. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Why don't we look for your stuff?"

"What stuff?"

"Duh! Your meteorite sword and your boomerang? You lost them just east of Ba Sing Se. We can search the forest after we ride up the coast here."

"Toph, don't think I haven't thought about that, but the odds are pretty slim. It's a big forest and it was flooded when Aang put the fires out. They could have been swept into the ocean."

"Sorry Sokka." Aang suddenly said form his seat on Appa's head.

"Don't worry Aang, I would have done the same thing." Sokka then added, "Hey wait, how long were you listening down there?"

"Since Toph's squealing." replied Aang as he flipped up to the saddle to join his friends.

"Both of you quit yammering and listen." Toph said. "Aang and I can use earthbending to search. The sword in particular is very unique and we have a shot at finding it unless it's embedded in a tree or something. It's on the way."

Sokka turned towards the sea. "It's not that big a deal."

"Yes it is!" Toph snapped. Her friends stared at her. "Now we're going to look for them because I know how much silly sentimental value they have to you!"

"Toph-" Sokka started to say.

"I don't want to hear it; we're going; end of discussion." Then she returned her attention to staring at nothing. The siblings gave each other a puzzled look.

"I think it's a good idea." Aang eventually added. "Besides, I should see how the forest is recovering."

"Well, Wulong Forest it is then." Sokka said. "Anyone else hungry?"

* * *

Astride his mongoose-dragon, with Jee riding to his right and Mai to his left, Zuko set his eyes forward as the last steppes of the southern range fell behind him, and the rocky shoreline was revealed to the party. Ty Lee rode with Mai, and behind the three lizards, two komodo-rhinos pulled sturdy wagons loaded with loyal soldiers. Behind the wagons, two Fire Nation tanks hummed along as their spiked treads tore up loose dirt and rock. Far off behind the tanks, Major Tien held the airship and roughly half the 41st on standby.

As they approached the beach, the road opened wide and Zuko heaved a sigh of relief. He was almost certain that if they were spotted on the approach, they would be ambushed in the narrow mountain pass. Now he was confident they had the element of surprise, and he would use it to end this rebellion quickly... hopefully without needless loss of life.

Riding along at a steady but even pace, Zuko led his forces along the shoreline westward. The ocean beat against the earth in regular intervals, each time dragging some of it away, only to splash more grains back on when the next wave struck.

As a young prince, he had spent a lot of time by the shore with his family. Back on Ember Island. Back when he _had _a family. Zuko slumped a bit, then he stole a glance back at Mai. Making eye contact, she smiled subtly. He smiled back, in spite of himself. _No, I have a family. Her, Uncle, and a family of friends._

Zuko focused back on the task at hand. Approaching from the loose, grassy dunes east of the base would provide the best cover and allow them to get very close without being spotted. Jee and Tien's tactical knowledge had proven invaluable. Spotting a small red marker poking out of the next dune, Zuko raised his hand up and brought his mount to a stop. His companions followed suit.

"This looks like the spot. Once we ride over this dune, we'll be pretty much out in the open." Zuko said.

His friends and forces nodded in understanding. Jee rode forward a bit.

Zuko nodded to Jee, and the Captain addressed the group. "We'll split into teams. I want the tanks in first, full speed along the shoreline, but don't get too close to the water. Don't fire unless fired upon; there's still a tiny chance they may be willing to negotiate. However, I expect them to start shooting immediately; the tanks job will be to draw fire and attention away. Meanwhile, the rest of us will stay inland and approach from the right. Once we get to the main gates, we should be safe from the guard towers and be able to break in. We'll secure the entrance and move inside."

Zuko added, "Once inside, we'll split up and search for the five missing councilmen. Mai and I will take the swordsmen and the 41st in the first wagon. Jee and Ty Lee will move with the men in the second wagon. Try to take prisoners before you take lives... but not at the expense of your own."

As Zuko turned his beast forward, the last rays of the sun reflected off the crown he now wore in his hair. Dark and heavy clouds blotted out the light, and thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance. Zuko brought his hand up, then sharply down. The men manning the tanks fired up the steam-powered engines with their firebending, and the machines rolled forward, over the dunes, and into view of the base. The animals and their passengers all broke inland.

As ordered, the tanks reached full throttle and sped along the shore, kicking up a tail of sand in their wake. No fire came from the guard towers of the base. No activity could be seen at all. Zuko urged his mount to full speed, which was considerably faster than the tanks or the komodo-rhinos. Mai and Jee fell in behind him. Still nothing from the base, not even an alarm. In minutes, the tanks had stopped their run and set up defensive positions, and the rest of the assault team came to a stop at the front gate.

The base was a simple structure, built into a wide cave. Two towers lined the main gates, and were accessible only from inside the base itself or with good climbing gear. Nothing of the base existed outside the cave, aside from the shipyard, which Zuko noticed was absent of any ships. Only a few scattered bits of equipment could be spotted from his current vantage point.

Turning back to the gate, Zuko watched in awe as the komodo-rhinos, now unhitched from the wagons, pushed the heavy metal doors open with minimal effort. It wasn't even barred or locked. No alarms sounded aside from the metallic groan of the doors swinging on their thick hinges. He shot Jee a questioning look, but the Captain was clearly just as surprised and could only offer a shrug in return. Leaving a few soldiers out front, the group pressed inwards with a cautious stride.

* * *

Currently, Wulong Forest could more aptly be called Wulong Marsh. When Aang pulled the ocean in to douse the inferno Ozai's air fleet had started, the water had soaked into the ground and pooled into every low spot that could be found. In time, the landscape would return more or less to normal, and it was certainly better than the scorched alternative, but despite this obvious conclusion, Katara could tell Aang wasn't entirely happy with what happened to the natural surroundings.

She watched him wade through ponds of salty water unfit for any of the native creatures to use, run his hands against singed trees coated in thick mud, and occasionally inspect some piece of airship debris, all with a pensive frown. In between these musings, he stomped the ground regularly, half-heartedly using Toph's technique to search for Sokka's missing weapons.

Katara had seen Ozai's wrecked airship strewn against the plateaus that dotted the forest as they came in for a landing with Appa. Like the iron frigate suspended and impaled by ice near her own home in the south pole, this derelict served as a permanent reminder of a victory that came with a price... a victory that was too close for comfort.

Katara had learned in Ba Sing Se some months ago that Aang's version of the battle was a lot more terrifying than what Sokka and Suki could see. To the warriors watching from the airship bridge, all they saw was some bending, some explosions, then relative quiet until Aang rose up in the Avatar state and 'pretty much mopped the landscape with Ozai's face' as her brother put it. To her knowledge, only she has heard the real details from him, such as how he was almost boiled alive in a cocoon of stone, or how his spirit was nearly consumed when attempting to remove Ozai's firebending.

Toph, in contrast to Aang, seemed much more energetic and determined. Katara watched her stomp around on almost every step, the soggy earth replying with wet sucking noises. At one point she unearthed an angle of warped metal and held it up for Sokka, clearly mistaking it for his boomerang. Katara watched the blind girl merely shrug when Sokka explained what it was and toss the scrap aside to resume her search. She had never seen the wild child so patient while performing an ostensibly boring task.

Sokka had – not surprisingly – warmed up to the idea of looking for his precious 'stuff' after a good lunch. Upon arriving on the outskirts of the forest earlier that afternoon, he rushed to set up camp on some high, dry ground and the four set out immediately. Unfortunately, with the sun now beginning to drop lower and lower into the evening sky, Sokka's ever-fleeting optimism was quickly being replaced by his normal negativity.

"Guys, I really appreciate you all coming here to look for Space Sword and Boomerang, but we were crazy to think we'd find anything in this mess," Sokka said.

Toph whirled at him. "Giving up already? It's only been a few hours! I'm not even tired!"

"It's getting dark Toph, we should head back to camp for dinner," Katara said.

Toph raised her arms in the air. "Hello! It's _always_ dark for me. Besides, Aang can make plenty of light if you guys need it."

"I think this place has seen enough fire..." Aang said quietly.

"Toph, how long did you plan on looking for my things?" Sokka asked.

"Until I find them," she answered simply.

"Whaa?" Sokka seemed paralyzed.

Katara placed her hand on Toph's shoulder. "Toph, why is this so important to you?"

Toph shook Katara's hand off and crossed her arms. "What? Can't I do something nice without everyone asking questions? I just felt like it, okay?" She blew the bangs away from her face. "Ugh, forget it, lets just go back and eat." Toph started stomping back towards their camp. Sokka quickly strode up to her.

"Are you still looking?" he asked.

She remained silent, but continued walking heavily.

"Why don't we take a different path back? Maybe we'll get lucky. That okay with you guys?" Sokka asked aloud. Aang and Katara nodded.

As the four walked back through the damp forest, they spread out more and more to increase their odds. Katara kept her eyes open, but most of her concentration was on Aang's demeanor, which was still pensive and preoccupied with worry. Katara closed the distance between them subtly until they were close enough for a quiet conversation.

"Hey," Aang said first.

"Hey. Any luck?"

"To be honest, I can't tell the difference between materials with earthbending, I can just make out shapes and movement. Toph has the best chance at finding anything out here in this 'mess' as Sokka called it."

"It's not a mess Aang. Senlin, Hei Bai's Forest, that was a mess, but I showed you that it would grow back. This place is just a little... wet. You should be proud and happy, you stopped the burning of more than just a forest, but probably the entire northern part of the Earth Kingdom. Pretty amazing considering the comet was involved."

Aang sighed. "I know, you're right. I shouldn't be moping around. There's still life here, it's just been shaken up a bit. I can't help but be a little sad though. I can't help but wonder if I might have done things a little differently, this place wouldn't have lost a single leaf."

"Aang, you can't do this again. You'll go crazy with the 'what-ifs'. What if I was here helping you instead of helping Zuko with Azula? Maybe Zuko would have taken her down without getting shot by lightning intended for me. Maybe I could have been putting out fires while you fought Ozai. Or maybe Zuko would have died without me there to heal him; maybe Ozai would have used me to get at you. The point is, what happened, happened... and overall I think things turned out pretty positive."

Aang stopped and smiled for the first time in hours. Katara watched the dark wash off his face, as if her words had been a splash of cleansing water. He closed the small distance between them to steal a quick kiss, then breathed a little thank you in her ear.

"No. No way. No way is this happening right now!" yelled Sokka from a few paces away. Katara and Aang turned warily towards him, both with immediate relief that Sokka's outburst was not in reaction to their playfulness. In a mossy clearing, Toph was now holding Sokka's muddy but intact boomerang in the air like a trophy.

"Boomerang always comes back, right Sokka?" Toph said with a wide smile.

* * *

Ty Lee found herself fighting the urge to scream as she, Captain Jee, and several soldiers checked room after room along the west wing of the base. This urge came not because she was frightened, but because she was expecting something bad to happen any moment, and everything was _so dreadfully quiet_. She also did not much enjoy being separated from her friends, although her present company was not so bad either.

For a man in his forties, she had to admit the Captain was attractive. He also possessed a very interesting aura: it swirled with aggressive red energy but also a soft, canary-dove colored gentleness. Ty Lee started to wonder why such a man never married, but in a sudden flash of self-awareness decided to halt that line of thinking and focus on the task at hand.

Her team now consisted of a dozen soldiers, half of which were firebenders. Zuko's group, clearing the east wing, consisted of the eight elite swordsmen, a few firebenders, and Mai. The rest of the forces that had made the ground trip set up a loose perimeter outside with the tanks, or just inside the main gates.

The design of the building was simple, and allowed for an efficient search route: they would clear the wings, enter the large central machine shop from the rear, then check the towers on the way back to the front gates. If they found nothing, this trip would amount to a considerable waste of time and resources. Part of her almost hoped she would not have to dodge fireballs today, but she also wanted to resolve this problem quickly so she could resume her Kyoshi training and actually see the namesake island herself.

The acrobat moved quickly down the hall, checking rooms and branching corridors that were not already being inspected. She found a room full of bunks and footlockers, an office with an ugly desk that looked like a freshly decapitated dragon's head, a mess hall with a few bowls of half-eaten stew, but no bad guys. Rounding yet another corner, she was momentarily excited by the sound of footfalls, but immediately recognized Zuko approaching with his group from the opposite direction. He looked very annoyed.

"Find anything?" the Fire Lord asked his Captain as the two squads merged.

"I'm afraid not, sir. All evidence suggests this base was hastily abandoned," Jee replied.

Zuko growled and blasted the double-doors to the machine shop open, all attempts at stealth discarded. He looked around the room, which like the others was mostly empty, and began pacing angrily. Mai walked over to him, and Ty Lee decided to follow suit. Most of the soldiers began inspecting the room, conditioned to follow orders to the letter when their superiors were in bad moods. Jee inspected a chain pulley system that was integrated with the ceiling.

"I can't believe I didn't think of this," Zuko said suddenly as he dragged his hands through his hair.

"Zuko, don't-" Mai started.

"No, this is so obvious now. Why would I expect them to fight? I assumed when they didn't ambush us in the mountains, we weren't spotted. Instead, it seems we _were_ spotted and they decided to run knowing the numbers they were up against. I should have just stormed in here with the airship. I missed our chance."

Jee joined them. "Sir, I don't think so. There is no way they could have stripped this base clean in such a short period of time if they were using it as a staging area. I would assume this base was abandoned days ago."

Ty Lee hummed. "Hmmmm... what about that stew in the mess hall? It didn't look days old to me."

Jee looked thoughtful. "An excellent point, Lady Ty Lee... I wonder-"

Zuko's eyes shot wide. "A trap," he hissed. "Everyone, we have to get out of here!"

Suddenly, the much larger double-doors opposite the way they entered slammed open, and a couple dozen soldiers filed past a smirking High General Bujing.

"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere, Prince Zuko."

* * *

Zuko turned instinctively towards the doors he had blasted open moments before, not surprised to find even more enemy soldiers streaming in from that direction. He knew that to avoid death or capture, he would need to act quickly. The soldiers were already surrounding his group, and even though the numbers seemed roughly even, they were in a very bad position.

Zuko was determined to wipe that smirk off Bujing's face once and for all.

"Jee, give me a boost," Zuko whispered. The Captain complied, cupping his hands for Zuko's foot and assisting with a high jump into the air. Before the enemy could react, Zuko twisted and drew his swords, using them for focus and balance, then spiraled out tendrils of flame in all directions. His men saw the opportunity and broke outwards to engage the renegades.

Upon landing, Zuko took a moment to observe what he was up against in more detail. They looked just like his own soldiers, except that each had one large shoulder plate painted completely black and inscribed with some kind of gold insignia. He also noticed with great displeasure some familiar faces: the Rough Rhinos. The unit was missing in action in the southern reaches of the Earth Kingdom last he had heard. Now he watched these five dangerous masters leap into the fray.

One of the 41st's pikemen was the first to fall, his spear reduced to only the smoldering metal tip. Zuko slashed the air in rapid succession, aiming precise bolts of fire at any enemy he had a clear shot on. Most were deflected by firebenders, although he did manage to knock one soldier down. Zuko abruptly realized he had never fought a battle on this scale before, although he had witnessed plenty.

Jee was now locked into a heated firebending duel with Colonel Mongke, the leader of the Rough Rhinos. Both men focused on each other while dodging or deflecting stray blasts of flame or the occasional spear or sword thrust. Before long, they were fighting almost hand-to-hand, using quick jets of fire and brute strength to try and overpower the other.

Ty Lee had managed to disable a couple soldiers, but was now occupied with avoiding Ogodei's vicious chain weapon. As the linked metal whirled through the air and crashed against the ground, Ty Lee flipped, cart-wheeled, and rolled out of reach. Each time was a near miss, but each time she got a little closer to her target.

Mai's hands were a blur as she flung balanced knives at any target of opportunity or shot a volley of darts from her wrist launchers. A few soldiers went down, but before she could even register a new target, and arrow caught her shoulder and spun her off balance. Moving with the spin instead of against it, she returned a hail of darts from the launchers on her ankles towards Vachir. The archer rolled and knocked another arrow, and Mai prepared more knives to counter.

Zuko, all the while trying to clear a path to Bujing, tried to make an assessment of how the battle was going, but all he could know for sure was that it was going to be short, one way or another. Several soldiers from both sides lay prone and injured, possibly dead. He could not watch everything, and in the back of his mind he was certain he saw Mai get hit. Everything was a blur, although one blur in particular caught his attention.

Moving with fluid grace along the perimeter of the skirmish, one of the younger men (but still older than him) in the elite swordsman unit brought down armed soldiers and benders with equal ease and grace. He moved with alarming speed, both by way of foot and with each strike of his blade. While Zuko drove a strong, linear column of fire forward to try and break up a group of organizing rebel soldiers, he watched in his peripheral vision this same swordsman engage Kahchi. Here, finally, the swordsman's momentum was halted, as this Rough Rhino swung his poleaxe around with startling alacrity. Blade came to blade, and sparks showered to the floor.

Bujing himself was now in the fight, and Zuko had to admit the General was certainly no pushover. His firebending was vicious but not wild like Zhao's. This man fought with a ruthless, killer instinct, and had no qualms about fighting dirty as he kicked sawdust into the air and blinded another of Zuko's swordsmen before blasting fire into his gut. The fallen soldier did not stir.

Zuko would not allow this day to end in defeat. With a great roar, he breathed fire in a massive cone, knocking down three enemy firebenders at once. Seizing the attention now drawn towards him, Zuko dropped into a low horse stance and began drawing circles with his hands. Blue arcs of electricity began to lick the air, but Zuko knew how the attack would end. He gave his friends and loyal soldiers what he hoped was a meaningful look. Some got the message.

Jee delivered a scorching uppercut to Mongke and the man dropped to the ground unconscious with a smoldering chin. Ty Lee rolled between Ogodei's legs and jabbed him at the base of his spine, causing him to immediately collapse. Mai, who Zuko now confirmed did in fact have an arrow sticking out of her left shoulder, managed to cut Vachir's bowstring. Zuko decided to discharge his attack behind him, which propelled him forward as the yet again failed technique created a concussive blast instead of lightning. It did, however, provide Zuko with ample momentum to strike the archer unconscious with the heel of his foot. The swordsman fighting Kahchi had reduced the warrior's poleaxe to a short stick... and Zuko watched with a mixture of unease and fascination as the blade flicked like a rat-viper at his neck. The results would doubtlessly be terminal. That just left one Rough Rhino unaccounted for...

"Yeh-Lu! Now!" yelled Bujing suddenly.

Yeh-Lu, expert with various blasting-jelly explosives, lit a fuse in his hand. Zuko traced the fuse back towards the door Bujing had entered, up the wall, and to an innocent looking bundle hanging from hooks in the ceiling. Zuko would have dismissed it as just storage for machine shop tools or equipment, but he knew better now. Bujing's surviving ambushers immediately stopped trying to close a circle around Zuko's party and fled through either exit.

"Mai, fuse, quick!" Zuko yelled. In an instant, Mai observed the direction Zuko was pointing in and released a knife to sever the fuse just before the spark reached what was undoubtedly a lot of explosives. All of Bujing's men still able to move had fled. Zuko ran the remaining distance to Mai.

"Are you all right? I wanted to ask that first but-"

"I know. It's... uncomfortable. I'll be fine. Get Bujing, we have to end this."

"But..."

"Zuko, go! I would prefer not to have to repeat this day any time soon!"

He nodded and stood. "If you're uninjured, tend to the wounded, make sure everyone who is alive gets out!" Zuko announced. Then he sheathed his dual broadswords and bolted after the General.

As he ran through the machine shop doors and into the wide hallway that led to the main gate, Zuko noticed the side door leading to the east tower was swinging open. Taking a gamble on Bujing fleeing that way, he ran into the open door and to the base of a set of spiral stairs. Zuko took the stairs two at a time, staying wide and keeping his palms open in anticipation of a firebending ambush. Near the top of the stairs was a short metal ladder leading to an opening in the ceiling, and Zuko caught a glimpse of Bujing's polished boot just before it disappeared. Far too late to have any chance of connecting, Zuko charged a heavy fireball and shot it straight up through the opening and high into the air, where it feathered out and dissipated. Zuko then ascended the ladder quickly, jumping up to the highest rung he could manage and kick-flipping through the opening. Fire sailed past him as he landed on the open roof of the guard tower.

"I must admit, Zuko, you're a greater adversary than I would have expected. A shame you waste your talents on your childish idealism."

"You won't escape."

"We'll see."

Bujing launched a flurry of fire at Zuko, but the new Lord slapped each blast away. Each deflection, Zuko advanced closer to his quarry. Bujing's attacks became less focused and more desperate, and it was clear the older man was quickly becoming exhausted. Zuko was nearly close enough for hand-to-hand now, and he suddenly delivered a fierce side kick coupled with a burst of fire, which sent Bujing flying backwards and into the low wall that barely spared him from a lethal meeting with the ground below. Zuko advanced on the downed Bujing, hands ready.

"You've lost; surrender."

Bujing looked up and smiled menacingly. Zuko did not need to ask what the smile was for, as he was now close enough to the edge to see the scene in front of the base. Both of his tanks were destroyed, and the beach was littered with more of the black-shouldered enemy.

Worse still, three war balloons floated up from below. They immediately spat fire at him, and it was all he could do to keep the steady stream of fire from consuming him. Zuko was now entirely on the defensive. Bujing began to cackle loudly from his seat against the wall, but it was cut off abruptly when a great shadow was cast over him.

"For the 41st!" cried Tien from the scaffolding below Zuko's airship.

Immediately, a shower of fire fell upon the enemy war balloons as Tien and several other firebenders harnessed to the ship unleashed their power at once. Each balloon burst into flames and plummeted to the ground. The airship floated on towards the beach, raining fire down upon the enemy like Agni's tears.

"Got your signal, my Lord!" Tien saluted from above. It was now Zuko's turn to smirk. Bujing cowered as Zuko approached him.

"Now, you'll surrender." Zuko stated, clearly indicating it was not a question.

Bujing began to raise his arms up slowly, when suddenly his expression turned from terrified to confused, then suddenly focused. His eyes were no longer set on Zuko, but slightly beyond him. Zuko resisted the urge to turn, but heard someone drawing a blade.

"My Lord, look out!" cried the voice behind him. Along with the warning whirled the tell-tale sound of an object spinning in the air. Before Zuko could turn, a thrown sword struck Bujing squarely in the chest.

"B...but..." were the High General's last words. Zuko turned to see the swordsman who felled Kahchi panting heavily, his arm still extended from the throw.

* * *

An airship hummed nearby, causing the stone surroundings to quiver gently. This was not an uncommon occurrence; however, today the humming sounded much closer than usual. It came to no surprise when the humming was followed by a loud crash, and the smell of charred stone filled the air.

Ozai was already standing, looking as regal as he could manage while wearing rags, when the heavy door to his cell was sprung open.

"Qin, you've arrived earlier than I expected. Has something happened?"

The War Minister nodded. "We had to speed the plan along a bit. Bujing is handling your son as we speak. It's time for a change of scenery, my Lord."

"The first of many changes, War Minister."


	9. Strained Leaders

Chapter 9: Strained Leaders

The shape and substance of Azula's chamber served to quite effectively amplify outside noise. This was a small pleasure when she was bored and lucid; she could entertain herself with eavesdropping on conversations in the courtyard. Most were fairly mundane, although some of the more animated patients were almost hilariously insane. On one occasion, she had burst out into laughter when she heard an older man mutter that his teeth were conduits that the spirits could communicate through. She laughed good and hard, until she became aware that the echoes of her own laughter sounded hardly any more sane than a man who believed his teeth could transmit divine messages. Azula had not laughed since.

Tonight the acoustics of her room were more a curse than a benefit. Lightning flashed across the sky, and the thunder drove through the small window to her room, banging loudly, as if to mock that she could no longer wield it. Azula tried to bury herself under the blankets and block the noise with her pillow, but it was of little use. The rain – a heavy downpour – was almost deafening by itself, and some water sprayed in through the small slotted opening and dripped off the edge of the sill. This slow drip was perhaps the most maddening sound of all. It sounded like falling tears, and like water dripping from a sewer grate. It sounded like sea water running off raven locks of hair, and like baby turtle-ducks swimming in a pond. It sounded like the hum of a steam-powered machine.

_A machine?_

Azula brought herself out of the limited sanctuary of her bed and strode slowly towards the window. She did not react as her wrapped and booted feet came to rest in the shallow puddle that had collected beneath the sill, splashing chilling water around her ankles. Outside there was darkness, except for a few ineffectual torches shielded from the rain, and some faint light coming from the lone watch tower.

Oblivious to the misty spray forming a thin dew on her face, the deposed princess continued to stare out at the faint points of light that dared stand in contempt of the storm. The humming became louder and sharper, gradually transforming into an ear-piercing screech not unlike that of an imperiled dragon-hawk. Azula watched, more curious than surprised, as the points of light slowly expanded and split into irregular blobs of orange and yellow – and floated along the black canvas of the night sky. Had a caretaker with some exceptional firebending ability decided to entertain or challenge himself against the soaking torrent? Was one of the patients somehow reaching out and affecting the torches to carve some cryptic message of fire into the shadows?

Watching on, it soon became apparent to Azula what this was. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered it as a hallucination, but the rest of her recognized this phenomenon only as another one of those mysterious, self-arranging puzzles. The blobs, now clearly molded into burning jigsaw pieces, began shifting around for her. They would snap together with a convincing whump of fire meeting fire. In moments, the image revealed itself as a mythical beast: the phoenix – the Immortal Fire Bird – an angel of Agni, or some would say Agni himself. The bird was a symbol of life and death, and its infinite cycle. It was a symbol of change, of rebirth. Of redemption and revolution.

But all Azula could see now was the phoenix on a black banner, the self-made symbol of her father, who would call himself the Phoenix King. Perhaps it was this act of arrogance, she mused, that lead to his defeat. She wasn't sure of the circumstances, but for all she knew the spirit Agni himself assisted the Avatar in bringing him down, for after all, the title of Phoenix King is truly Agni's alone. Azula never bothered with religious superstition or the spirits, dismissing them as pure fantasy before, but she could not deny that some occurrences were best explained by the sages and the old ways. The Avatar himself was one such anomaly.

Suddenly, the phoenix-puzzle exploded, and the screeching died back down to a mechanical hum, but this humming was now much louder and accompanied by a bit of a rattle and the sound of large, spinning blades. Azula looked up and saw the faint silhouette of a Fire Nation airship raining fireballs down on the Tomo Facility courtyard. The explosion she thought was the dispersing phoenix was actually the single guard tower splintering into flaming chunks of wood and stone.

_Really Zuko? You're going to waste the resources of an airship and a full complement of firebenders just to lay waste to me and a lightly defended prison? I suppose I should be flattered, but I'm shocked you're using such overt means of ending my life._

As the airship descended in the open courtyard, a few caretaker-guards came to defense. Soldiers dropped down on ropes from the ship while the guards tried to fend them off with fire or spears, but they were no match for the attackers.

Azula watched on with morbid interest as she observed a large man, one of the attackers, wildly swing a greatsword at his opponents. The blade was nearly as tall as he, at least six feet, and curved back and forth as if the metal was itself a tongue of dancing flame. Oddly, he was clearly more ferocious than skilled with this exotic weapon. There were moments where he completely missed an opponent or nearly lost his balance.

Fortunately for him, he was roughly encircled by five well-trained firebending soldiers and a smaller man in noble robes, who used their bending to cover the frequent gaps in his defense. In the persisting storm she could not see much detail. The seven-man squad moved out of view from her window.

Azula moved back to her bed, her pale yellow robes now damp around her shoulders and chest, her fringe dripping, and she sat down to wait for her death. She idly tapped her restraints together, like a child unable to sit still. _Oh brother, couldn't you have come to do this yourself? Were you afraid I might talk you out of it? Or are you just a coward? No, Zuzu, you are many things, but never a coward. Well, regardless, I think I welcome death. My purpose is void, so the void is where I belong._

"This room, my Lord," a voice sounded from beyond her door.

_Oh, so you _have_ come to do this personally? Was the airship all just fanfare? You are more like father than you think._

She heard the sound of a key clicking into the lock of her door, and then metal grinding on metal as it slowly swung open on its hinges. Two pairs of footsteps, one heavy and imposing, the other more of a shuffle. Azula turned to see her executioner, ready with some clever last words that she hoped may make it into a history book somewhere, but was unable to speak when she saw who came for her.

"Azula... my daughter."

She stared for a few moments, utterly robbed of speech. The man standing before her was certainly her father, and yet so much different. His attire was simple military, his hair undone and slick with water. He looked a bit thinner, and his eyes were duller and framed with dark circles. Blood stained his clothing, as well as the wavy blade which he casually dragged along the floor. This was the same figure she saw outside swinging a sword like a berserker. He wore the same half-smile of self-assured superiority he always wore, but Azula had difficulty reconciling this image with how she saw her father when he left to burn down the Earth Kingdom.

"Father, is it really you? But how?"

Some shouts came from the hallway, and she noticed War Minister Qin, who had barely entered the room, look back the way he came. Ozai inclined his head slightly as well.

"We do not have time now, Azula. Come with me!" The previous Fire Lord grabbed his daughter by the wrist and lifted her to stand as he unlocked and unfastened her restraints. Broken from her initial shock, she was instead filled with mixed emotions. Elation that her father had come to rescue her, yet acutely aware that he was almost twisting her arm off as he pulled her out of the room. She was also disturbed by the gore dripping from her father's weapon. Had his time in prison changed him as it had surely changed her?

Father and daughter entered the hallway after Qin, as a few soldiers exchanged blasts of fire with some of the caretakers. Although the soldiers were superior in skill, in this narrow hallway numbers counted for more than ability, and the caretakers seemed to be literally streaming down the corridor.

"Azula, destroy this rabble so we can take our leave!" Ozai said as he released her arm. Azula stared at her father lamely, and he looked down at her with anger brimming on his face. "What is the matter with you? Do it now!"

With a slight nod, Azula took a simple stance and a breath, the released a side kick that should have been accompanied by her unique and terrifying blue fire. But there was nothing, not even the slightest puff of smoke. She tried a few quick jabs, but still nothing. The skirmish continued without noticing her. She turned back to her father.

"I'm sorry... I... cannot."

Ozai growled and struck her across the face. "What do you mean, 'you cannot'? I was told you were literally spitting fire when they brought you here!"

Azula fell to her knees. "I'm sorry father, I do not remember bending since the comet passed. I don't know why, but I will learn all over again if I must. Why don't you just use your–"

Qin interrupted after assisting the soldiers with a few blasts of flame. "My Lord, we do not have the time or resources for that. Look at her eyes; you can see there is nothing of her previous greatness left. Let us take the few willing soldiers we've liberated here and move on; I'm afraid your daughter is only a burden now."

Ozai continued to stare down at his daughter, a red mark already swelling up on her cheek where he had struck her. She looked up, daring to meet his eyes, praying that he would disagree, but she saw only rage subside into contempt.

"Indeed, you are right, Qin. She's of no use to us now. How disappointing."

Qin's soldiers managed to blast a hole in the sandstone wall nearby, and the entire group of infiltrators made their escape. Azula slumped down against the frame of her door and wept as the caretakers gave chase. The echoes of battle moved away from her, leaving her alone and hardly able to think over the wrenching pain in her chest.

_Useless? Yes. I was a prodigy of fire, but can no longer light a candle. I won more battles with guile than with force, but my mind has its own agenda now. I was an icon for the country, the beautiful and terrifying princess... but now I'm a wreck in rags and less empowered than a beggar. I welcome death, yet lack the courage to make it happen myself. Am I to grow old and spend the rest of my days merely taking breath and talking to strangers about nothing?_

Footsteps drew near her, but she did not look up. She saw some muddy boots stop mid-stride and turn so the toes faced her.

"Well I'll be damned, I thought for sure Daddy was here to bust you out."

She recognized the voice but could not place it. One of the caretaker guards, or perhaps one of her physicians. She only sniffled in response. The man kneeled down.

"Someone hit you, girl?"

The man lifted Azula's face by the chin, and tears silently rolled down her cheek. The man sighed.

"Well, I suppose the how and why of it doesn't matter. He came and took some nutty and violent types with him, but you're still here. Guess you aren't nutty and violent enough to go, or for him to take. Either way, you lucked out. You have a chance here... I suggest you stay in your room until things settle down, Princess."

The muddy boots turned and left after the caretaker placed a burgundy cloak over Azula's soaked shoulders. She could hear the hum of the airship drifting away and the sounds of the storm return as the center of the night's orchestra. The fighting had stopped, although there were still occasional shouts to help the injured or put out a fire.

_Lucked out? Rejected by my father, fallen from greatness, pitied or loathed by everyone? What kind of fortune is that?_ _What kind of life is that? _Azula spat. She stood, drawing the cloak around her and holding it in tight fists as her despair was pushed aside by anger. She wanted so badly to destroy something, make some object suffer for her suffering, but didn't bother to try. And then, the image of the phoenix flashed in her mind. Azula relaxed, calmed by this vision.

_ Yes, this life is ended, but I do have a chance. Not here, no... not here. I will try again, not as a princess, but something else. I know not what, but I will show Father that I am not useless. I'll show everyone that I am not an object of pity, and I'll start by checking myself out of here._

In the chaos of tending to casualties, identifying the dead, and quelling wild blazes, Azula slipped out of the Tomo Facility unnoticed and headed east, towards the beach.

* * *

"I still think we gave up too soon," Toph said from her usual spot alongside Appa's saddle.

"Toph, it's fine, really. We have Team Avatar stuff to do, and you found Boomerang! I can't even explain it... it's like losing an arm and then getting it reattached. I never knew how much I'd miss it!" Sokka almost squealed as he waved his retrieved weapon in the crisp morning air.

"Uh, that's an... interesting way of looking at it," Aang said as he leaned against the front the saddle. "Besides, we can look for his sword again another time, Toph. If it's in the forest, it's probably not going anywhere."

"I guess," replied the petite earthbender.

"Hey guys, I can see Ba Sing Se through the break in the clouds ahead, I'm bringing us down." Katara called from atop the bison's head.

With Appa settled in a special pasture General Hao had provided specifically for the flying beast, the group disembarked. Momo swirled down and decided he would ride on Katara's shoulder for the time being. She gave him an affectionate pat and the five set off towards the Earth King's palace.

"I can't believe we're all back here already. It's almost like we never left." Toph said as she shuffled along the courtyard path.

"Toph, it's been over a month, hasn't it?" Katara asked. Then she added, "A lot has happened."

"Yeah! Like ambushes and Aang got taller and Toph found Boomerang and I got initiated into the uh..." Sokka's eyes darted from side to side, "you-know-what-club, and..."

"Speaking of your 'club', Sokka, do you know what you're doing yet?" Toph asked.

"Well, I was thinking I'd talk to Iroh about it a bit, but I have a whole year and I can't think of anywhere I'd have a better chance finding knowledge, truth, and beauty than with you three."

Aang, Toph, and Katara all stopped walking, and Sokka took a few more steps before turning to face his friends and sister.

"What?" Sokka inquired.

"That was... sweet, Sokka," Katara said.

"Which one of us is which, Sokka?" Aang asked with a smirk on his face. Toph hiccuped. Momo chirped.

"Well, uh, I didn't mean... I was just saying that with you guys... stuff happens..." Sokka trailed off for a moment and then shrugged. _Odd question deserves an odd answer._ Sokka strode back to Aang and pinched his cheek. "Don't worry, Aang, you're the beauty."

Toph and Katara giggled as Aang rubbed his cheek. Sokka just turned and continued walking towards the guardhouse at the rear entrance of the palace. The others followed after a moment. The guards allowed the esteemed group entry and informed them that General Hao was in the throne room, but the council was not in session.

The halls of the palace had long since been scoured of Fire Nation insignia and returned to their normal state. Aang found himself once again standing in front of the giant 'fancy' doors that led to the throne room. This time, instead of busting them open, Toph gave them a relatively gentle earthbending-powered shove.

General Hao looked exhausted and barely noticed the Avatar and his companions enter the room. He looked up only when they were a few feet away, and appeared almost too tired to be surprised. He also dropped any sort of decorum.

"Oh... it is good to see you all again. Please tell me you're here with good news," the weary general was almost pleading.

Sokka stepped forward. "I'm afraid not, General." He plucked a scroll from inside his shirt and handed it over. "It's all written in this report I put together, but the short version is it looks like there are some Fire Nation renegades still active and have made _us_ targets in particular. Unusual tactics and equipment too."

Hao sighed as he took the scroll. "More of the same then. I've received numerous reports of rogue forces making hit and run attacks and attempted kidnappings. They haven't been terribly successful, but we are missing a few people... most notably Madam Dian."

"The gray, crabby lady from the meetings?" Aang asked.

"The same. We've been unable to track down the source of these attacks or where the missing people are. Lots of false leads and information leading in ten different directions." He rubbed his temples. "The army just isn't designed for this sort of work. We need specialists, and frankly, we need our king back. I'm not designed for this sort of work either."

"I wonder if Kuei's absence and these other kidnappings are related..." Sokka mused aloud.

"Possibly, although few know what the Earth King looks like and he certainly wasn't traveling in a kingly manner, riding on a bear. I imagine his absence is unrelated. Perhaps he simply doesn't wish to return?" Hao's head fell. "I can hardly blame him."

Toph said, "General, you've got your specialists right here. I'm good at finding the lost, we got Sokka the Map Expert, the Avatar to scare the bones out of these kidnappers, and if that doesn't work... Katara can nag them to death!" She finished with overt enthusiasm.

Katara opened her mouth to object, and Momo flew off her as if suddenly burned, but the General spoke first. "Ah, thank the spirits. I had assumed the Avatar and his party would already be saddled with many tasks. Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I'll have a courier deliver all pertinent documents to your residence in the upper ring."

Aang replied, "Well, we do plan to check out the progress of the Taku rebuilding project, but if any evidence of the renegades leads in that general direction we might be able to do both at once. We'll try to find the Earth King while we're at it too."

Hao nodded. "Ah yes, Taku. As you know, I am not very pleased with the idea, but I admit it has merit. Just make sure there aren't any ulterior motives involved, if you could. I hear they've started rebuilding the ancient palace into their council building."

"Wow, already? Guess they're serious." Aang shifted. "Well, anyway, we plan to visit Iroh this afternoon. We'll depart for Taku tomorrow morning."

"Safe journey, all of you. And thanks." Hao then opened Sokka's scroll and raised an eyebrow. He started twisting it around in his hands at different angles before settling back on the original orientation.

"Ah, I'm not sure I understand this... diagram?" Hao said, but Aang and his friends were already out the door. He heard a hissing female voice echo into the throne room and fade away.

"Toph, I do not nag that much! ...insist on embarrassing me... ...important figures..."

* * *

Mai leaned up against one of the great, brassy pillars of the royal throne room, carefully avoiding putting any pressure on her tender shoulder. Despite Zuko's fussing over it, the injury was thankfully not serious, although the ex-Yu-Yan's arrow did enough damage to require stitches. Needless to say, she did not particularly enjoy being sewn up like a torn shirt, but she did not cry. _That's two little scars now... at least this one has a better story._

She stood three pillars away from the throne itself, feigning disinterest but inwardly curious to hear the words that would pass between Zuko and his next few visitors. She glanced up at her beloved as he sat upon the high seat, the fire around him low as he discussed something quietly with Major Tien and Captain Jee. Zuko, unlike any Fire Lord in recent history, insisted his advisors share the dias with him. He asked Mai up as well, but she had no desire to have the additional attention. _You better get used to it, Mai. When you're Fire Lady, you'll be getting even more attention, _he had said with a smile. Zuko hadn't formally proposed yet, but he hinted at it often. Mai assumed he would wait for the current disaster to be resolved... which was beginning to look longer and longer off by the day.

Finally, a tall and lean man, no older than twenty, came through the curtain that barred the throne room from the large hall before it, escorted by two of the royal guard. He approached the dias and kneeled, the ambient light of torches reflecting off his narrow eyes, the heat of the fire encircling Zuko pushing a slight draft against his short, dark hair. He was clad in ordinary soldier's armor and had a simple longsword at his hip.

"You wished to see me, my Lord?" he asked after a moment of silence.

Zuko stood from the throne and moved towards the edge of the platform, the fire rising slightly at his approach. "Yes. I have the report from your discussion with Major Tien, but I want to hear it directly from you."

"As you wish, sire," he spoke with with an almost melodious voice.

"Your name is Inuzo, correct? Sword Specialist of the 41st. Relatively new recruit?"

"All true, my Lord."

"According to Tien, you don't have a family or much of a history, but you have talent, intelligence, and a particular spirit, so he picked you for his division's elite swordsmen."

"I am honored even still to be accepted."

Zuko snorted. "Well, let's get to the point then. Your talent is not in question here, it's either your spirit or your intelligence. Tell me, why did you murder General Bujing as he was about to surrender?" The fire around Zuko rose a bit higher.

"My Lord, I believed he was about to deliver a sneak attack, which I am ashamed to admit was an opportunity granted due to the distraction of my presence. I only wanted to ensure your safety, and I acted in what I thought was the most prudent way possible. Please forgive me." The melody of his voice was replaced with a strain of... hurt?

Zuko sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he descended from the raised dias. The fire lowered and parted around him as if it were simply very bright fabric blowing in the wind. "No... no. Forgive me, and please rise."

Inuzo did so, but not without hesitation and a look of puzzlement.

Zuko now stood eye to eye with the soldier, and spoke. "It's not my place to question your character or your intentions, I see this. It's just that we're dealing with a big problem here, and the Bujing would have been a good source of information." Zuko paused to gather himself. "I'm not sure what to think... it's possible you may have saved my life yesterday, and for that I should be grateful."

Inuzo looked thoughtful for a moment, then gave a curt nod. "It is as any honorable soldier of the Fire Nation should do, my Lord. Protect our leader and we protect our way of life."

Zuko wasn't sure what to say in reaction to Inuzo's sudden intensity, but after a moment he managed, "Thank you, you're dismissed." The swordsman left and the guards followed to fetch Zuko's next audience.

Zuko turned to Mai and beckoned her over. With a shrug, she walked over to the dias. "What do you think?" he asked.

"What makes you think I was even paying attention?" she replied.

"Because you pay attention to everything."

Mai shrugged again. "He seemed hurt that his actions disappointed you, I think... then kind of weirdly serious towards the end. I guess he's just very loyal... maybe borderline crazy loyal, which I guess is good considering what he can do with a sword."

"Yeah... it's just a setback we really could have done without. Now that my father and sister are loose, we need all the advantages we can get. I can't believe how bad things have become in such a short period of time."

Jee and Tien approached now and joined the conversation. "What are your orders, m'Lord?" Tien asked.

Zuko let out a long sigh. "I don't know... I can barely think straight. And I have a few more audiences before I can get out of this room. Ty Lee and Suki are even waiting, it seems the nobles are throwing fits because I grant time to 'circus people' and 'Earth Kingdom marauders' but make them wait for official audiences."

"I think I could help put things in order," Jee began, "we must consider what we know. Bujing is one of the five missing old council members. While we were dealing with his trap, which Ozai lead us to, Qin freed your father with an airship and a solid contingent of soldiers. It stands to reason then that Ozai is involved in this rebellion somehow, if not leading it." Jee paused before continuing, "he then went to the Tomo Facility to free some unstable loyalists, including your sister, but according to the caretakers' report, she did not leave with your father, and one guard believed he saw Ozai strike Azula before retreating. However, she disappeared at some point during the night. She's a threat by herself, but at least she doesn't appear to be involved with the renegades... unless it was all an act."

Zuko nodded, clearly having difficulty focusing. Mai frowned as she watched him, the pressure of being a leader of a nation on the brink of civil war beginning to crush him from all sides. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. It didn't look completely convincing to her.

"Ok," Zuko started, "we need to continue hunting down the renegade leaders, which now is less Bujing and including my father. It's become clear to me that I need a new council. We also need to try and recover Azula, and quickly. If she doesn't start hurting other people, she's just as likely to hurt herself."

"We have that covered, Zuko," called Suki as she and Ty Lee passed through the curtains. "My warriors state in their last report that they already tracked her to some old docks near Tomo. It looks like she stole a small boat during the night and probably headed to Ember Island."

"During that storm? That's crazy!" Zuko said.

"Exactly..." Mai droned.

"Just give us two little balloons Zuko, we'll find her," Ty Lee said.

"Done. Make sure you send hawks regularly." He turned to Jee. "I have some letters to write. Tell the rest of the nobles they'll have to wait."

"Oh, that won't be necessary Zuko," Ty Lee said, "I kinda grounded the whole bunch because they wouldn't let us cut to the front of the line... and they were very rude to us!"

Zuko grimaced. "Uh... thanks. I think."

* * *

Iroh closed the _Jasmine Dragon_ in the waning hours of the evening a little earlier than usual when his nephew's friends arrived. Business had been a tad on the slow side during the day anyway, and the old general was glad to have guests with whom he could appreciate good tea and conversation. He surmised they had news, as did he... he hoped it wasn't all bad.

Jin waved at Aang and his friends as she hurried around the seating area, wiping down tables and mopping the floors with speedy efficiency. Iroh paid her well for her work, partly because he wanted to support a young student but also because she was worth three times as much as the average employee. When she finished closing up, she sat down at a corner booth and took out a bundle of scrolls to study. This was not unusual for her to do, but Iroh had a hunch that she was sticking around to see what an old firebender could possibly discuss with war heroes. Momo seemed intent on distracting her.

"Thanks for having us so late Iroh, especially since we didn't write ahead," Katara said.

"Oh, it's my pleasure. You are all as much my friends as you are Zuko's, and are welcome anytime." Iroh took a long, slow sip of his tea. "So, together again. Not long ago a we reunited to celebrate, but I suspect this time around might not be under such cheerful circumstances."

"It's not so bad, I have more bad guys to beat up. I was beginning to miss that," Toph said as she leaned back in her chair and drank greedily from her cup. She held it out and Katara refilled it with a twiddle of her fingers, waterbending the beverage right out of the pot.

"If only waterbenders didn't live in such cold places! I'm certain you would have some of the most entertaining tea shops in the world," Iroh said with a laugh. Katara smiled, and Iroh was reluctant to cast the mood down into the realm of the serious... but it wouldn't do to ignore the subject any longer.

"I have received a letter from Zuko," he said.

"How's he doing?" Katara asked.

"Oh, I'm sure he's probably got a harem full of scantily clad women and he spends his days swimming in gold coins," Sokka immediately began making swimming gestures with his arms.

Aang rolled his eyes. "I'm sure Zuko is probably having no more fun than we are. What did he have to say, Iroh?"

"Unfortunately, nothing good. Soon after he returned to the capital, five of his council members disappeared. They stole an imperial cruiser – Azula's ship actually – and even the Kyoshi Warriors had difficulty finding out where they went. He also mentions a lot of military equipment and personnel have gone missing. But, he assures me he is going to take his first challenge as Fire Lord with a clear mind and determination. He mentioned he already has a lead on the possible whereabouts of the councilmen."

"I can't believe he didn't write to us about it!" Katara yelled and stood up, jostling the table and almost knocking over her tea. She did succeed, however, in tipping Toph's chair over.

"Watch it Sweetness!" Toph shouted from the floor.

As Katara helped her up with muttered apologies, Aang spoke again. "He's trying to handle things by himself again?"

"Not by himself. Mai is with him, as are Suki, Ty Lee, and the rest of the Kyoshi. He also has many fine soldiers he can trust. I'm not concerned about his determination, but I believe he is reluctant to lean on you too much Aang; he wants to carry his weight too. A noble gesture, but perhaps not a clear-minded one, given the situation." Iroh sipped his tea again.

"Did he mention anything about Suki?" Sokka asked.

"I'm afraid not, but I expect another letter from him soon." Iroh replied.

"Aang, should we go to the Fire Nation and see what's going on?" Katara asked.

Aang shrugged. "I don't know. It's hard to say how serious it is. The attacks here might be related, they might not. I think the next step should still be to check out Taku and then look for the Earth King."

"I have heard things are progressing very fast in that effort," Iroh said off-handedly, "but little more than that."

"What do you plan to do, Iroh?" asked the now upright Toph.

"I will stay here in my shop, listening and serving tea, but if Zuko needs me, I will be there for him. I'll be certain to forward any messages to Taku for you."


	10. Dragon's Tongue

Chapter 10: Dragon's Tongue

"Wake up."

_No. Too tired._

"You can't stay here."

_Watch me._

"Okay then missy, if you insist."

Just when she thought she had enough water to last a lifetime, a bucket of it was heaved over her face. She sat up with a start, sputtering and trying to get her eyes to focus, but her vision could only register a blinding whiteness. She narrowed them into a squint, trying to allow time to adjust, and tried her other senses.

She could hear the rushing hiss of sea against shore, and the distant call of seabirds. She could smell the salty air mixed with the faint scent of wet decay. She could feel the heat of the sun. She immediately regretted using her sense of touch, despite the inevitability of it. Nausea, soreness... her skin felt like someone scrubbed her with volcanic rock and her head felt like holes were drilled in with cave leeches, and the leeches were now feasting on her brain. Despite these ailments, Azula belatedly realized she should be angry and indignant for being roused in such a manner.

"What did you do that for, you-"

The voice, female and sharp, interrupted. "I told you, you can't stay here. This is a private beach. Maybe next time you won't party so hard and wind up passed out in the sand. Now get out of here before I call the guards. I'm sure they'll do worse than a bucket of water. In fact, I probably did you a favor; you look filthy."

Azula's eyes finally finally began to function, and she looked up to see a scowling, middle-aged servant woman with her hands on her hips and her calloused fingers gripped around a now empty bucket in one hand. Rising, slowly and painfully, she now stared eye to eye with this woman, but the servant didn't even flinch. _Intimidation won't work. Can't bend. Wearing rags. Probably look like a... tramp. Need information._ _Switch methods. Head hurts. How did I get here?_

"Well missy, pick a direction and start walking. I got work to do at the house."

If it were not for her exhaustion, Azula might have clawed the woman's eyes out right there. Given her current state, she thought better of it.

"Very well, tell me where I am so I can find my way back to town."

"Ugh, teenage girls these days," the woman snorted. "You're standing on the private beach in front of High Admiral Chan's estate. Public beach to the right, which is east, town and other private beaches to the left, which is southwest. Now hurry on home. I hope your parents teach you some better sense."

Azula scowled at the mention of parents, but nodded and started heading towards town, despite having no desire to be seen in her present condition. Her yellow robes were crusted with sand and salt, the sash was missing and one of the sleeves was torn away, leaving the garment open and at the mercy of ocean winds. The burgundy cloak she received from the caretaker during the attack was lost. She was glad enough that her undergarments were intact so as to save her some dignity, however meaningless it now was. It came as a surprise to her that she could even spare the thought to be concerned about her appearance.

The previous night had nearly killed her, both mentally and physically. After departing from the Tomo Facility, she made her way towards the shore, with no other plan other than 'move forward'. After an hour of ambling along the rocky shoreline in heavy rain, barefoot, she came across a small private dock with a little sailboat. The wind was blowing east. Dredging up her geographic knowledge, she knew Ember Island was in that general direction. It seemed as good a destination as any, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could walk.

Azula mentally slapped herself now, realizing the stupidity of that decision. A boat gone missing would be noticed, while the rain certainly washed her footprints away. She could have untied the boat and stayed on the mainland, shaking potential pursuers off her trail. Or better still, not touched it at all and left no trail of any kind.

She also had no idea how to operate sails. The night was a blurred memory of terror. She managed to get the sails up and then hung on for dear life as the boat was raked across the churning ocean. Eventually it broke apart and she was just hanging on to a piece of the mast, letting the currents take her. More than once she considered just breathing the ocean in and ending it. But like a frightened child with a stuffed animal, she held onto the bit of wood until the last remnants of her energy left her. Then she had a bucket of water thrown on her face.

Remembering the churning ocean did nothing for her nausea. Azula turned aside and wretched sea water onto the beach. How much had she swallowed? How much was pooled in her lungs? How had she survived at all? _Perhaps they'll assume I died out there... maybe it wasn't such a bad plan after all._

Feeling slightly better, she continued walking along the shore, past private homes. It seemed early enough in the morning that few people were out. She got some looks from a group of small children but they didn't bother her further. She walked along listlessly, focusing only on a destination and not even knowing the distance to it. And then she tripped over something.

Reacting instinctively, Azula went with the fall instead of against it, redirecting the motion into a split and rising back to her feet. She allowed herself a small amount of pleasure in knowing she hadn't lost all her talents, even though it was stressed her aching body, and then turned to exact revenge on the object that tripped her. _Oh please, please be a defenseless animal. Perhaps a turtle-duck I can stomp into oblivion?_

The offending object was actually a circle of stones. Remnants of a firepit. Azula sighed, knowing that the only way she could damage those stones is with her lost bending.

Then she realized where she was.

Her family's summer home. The Royal Island Estate. Out here was where she, her brother, and her friends had their little chat.

Azula stared at the center of the firepit, filled in with sand. And then, the grains seemed to converge and shift in the winds, forming irregular shapes and colors. These shapes then danced around in the pit for a moment before slapping together into a rectangular shape. She recognized it as the family portrait Zuko had burned that night.

But there was something off about it. The Western Air Temple was in the background and Zuko wasn't in the picture. It was just herself, her mother, and her father. But she heard Zuko's voice.

"Is that what you've wanted all along?" the voice said.

"I wanted..."

Azula recalled her own words when she assaulted the temple.

_I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child!_

She had really tried to kill him that time, just as she had at the Boiling Rock. When she tried to capture him and her uncle, and she began conjuring lightning after her idiot captain blew the ruse, she was mostly showing off, and had no intention of bringing him down as she had assumed it was unnecessary. She hadn't expected Iroh to interrupt and redirect the attack, much less punt her overboard.

In the abandoned village in the southern Earth Kingdom, he was just in the way of her capturing the Avatar. A nuisance she disabled and would have taken into custody without serious harm. Not that Azula was reluctant to use lethal force. She was certain she had mortally wounded her uncle in that battle, and he deserved it for embarrassing her.

In Ba Sing Se, she made her brother an ally. Initially, she made this offer because she knew it would harm her Uncle even more than her fire could. But the fight itself was enlightening. Zuko not only fought with alarmingly improved skill, but actually protected her from the water tribe witch. Azula begrudgingly realized that she much preferred fighting alongside her brother than against him, but wasn't sure why. After all, Mai and Ty Lee fought with her, but there was something about her brother's ferocity that was... familiar. Then he had to go and betray their nation. Betray her going out on a limb to bring him back home unchained. For that insult, he had to die.

Suddenly he became immortal. Mai prevented Zuko's death at the Boiling Rock, and Ty Lee in turn prevented Mai's death, both at her personal expense. The fight at the Western Air Temple had him leaping on and off airships as if the dead nomads where lifting him up. He swatted away her attacks like they were nothing. How had he gone from wild and clumsy fire daggers to dismissing azure flame as one would snuff out a lantern in only a few months?

She looked at the portrait again. Her mother was in tears, one hand gently holding Azula's right shoulder. Her father seemed to have grown fangs, and his hand was a claw on her other shoulder, digging into it and drawing blood. The young version of herself was smiling wickedly, yet tears ran from her eyes as well. The temple was in flames in the background. Azula kicked more sand into the pit and turned away towards the house.

She expected the family dwelling to be much as she remembered it from their vacation. It wasn't. As she walked around the hallways and courtyard, she found plenty of evidence that it was lived in recently. Scorch marks in the courtyard, spare beds rolled out, a hole in the ceiling and a singed hallway. She realized with a start that this was where Zuko had fled with the Avatar and his friends. This was where he had taught him firebending.

Azula hissed and kicked the door open to her old room. _How dare he! Is there no end to his insults? Not only a traitor, but to do so in our own family home! Did that peasant girl sleep in my room? Maybe the blind runt? _But as she surveyed the room, she could tell it had been undisturbed until just now. Dust on the floor, but everything was exactly as she had left it years ago. Not a single item out of place. Her bed made, a set of makeup in perfect order, an empty jewelry box rested exactly where she left it years ago, knowing she wouldn't be back here for some time.

_At least he respected this one small thing... and I never thought to look for them here. It seems that with your treachery came uncanny cleverness Zuzu._ She turned and gasped as she noticed a figure standing in the corner. Azula fell into a combat stance; the figure did the same.

"What are you doing here?! Answer quickly!"

The figure seemed to move its mouth but did not drop the aggressive posture. It was then that she realized she was looking at her own reflection in a full-length mirror. Azula approached her reflection with caution, half-expecting her other self to leap out of it and attack her.

Azula had not seen her own reflection since the day of the comet. She was displeased with her appearance then, but now she was outright disgusted. Her hair was matted and greasy, with seaweed tangled throughout. Her face was scraped up and bruised, like the rest of her thinned body. Her lips were dried and cracked, and her eyes ringed by dark circles. Her skin, although always fair, no longer glowed with vitality, it was simply pale now. She looked far older than a fifteen year-old girl. She looked like a sea-hag... an old fairy-tale monster of the oceans. She tore away from the mirror and began gathering clean clothes and anything she could use for a bath. She skipped the makeup. _Can't afford to look like a princess right now. Clean up, find something to eat, move on. Anywhere but here. __Away. Plan. Plan what?_

She stopped in the hallway. She wanted to prove to herself she wasn't useless. That she had a purpose. Part of her wanted to simply kill everyone who had crossed her, but that was difficult enough without supporters or her bending. For now the plan had to remain 'move forward'. Her bare feet brushed up against a piece of rolled parchment on the floor. She dropped her bundle and picked it up.

It unrolled into a poster for the Ember Island Players. Azula snorted. _The Boy in The Iceberg._ The story followed the Avatar and his eventual defeat by the Princess and Firelord. But even as she crumpled it up and tossed it aside, Azula knew she'd be attending a play that night. She was in the mood for a story with a happy ending.

* * *

Zuko sat at the head of the rectangular table in his council hall (previously known as the war room) with all eyes on him. He summoned this group with a purpose but did not spare time to tell them why, yet. The faces with these eyes ran the gamut from nervous apprehension to polite patience. Zuko found it interesting, and perhaps telling, where his guests chose to sit.

He arrived first and took his obvious position. Captain Jee and Major Tien entered shortly after, taking seats to his immediate right and left respectively. Zuko dodged their questions for a few minutes until Mai came in looking moderately annoyed (a subtlety only he was likely to notice), and Tien offered her his seat and shifted one down on the left. Jee raised an eyebrow when former general Jeong Jeong and Master Piandao walked in, but it was one of pleasant surprise. Jeong Jeong wordlessly took a seat on the right next to Jee, and Piandao next to him. Grand Fire Sage Shyu walked in quietly and looked a little uncomfortable as he sat next to Tien, but not nearly so much as Admiral Liang of the Western Fleet, who took the far left seat next to Shyu. The far right seat was vacant, for now, as was the traditional place for ambassadors and guests at the opposite end of the table.

"So, I imagine you're all wondering why I've asked you here." Zuko said.

No one said anything, but they all nodded and waited. Jeong Jeong seemed to be trying to burn a hole in Zuko's forehead with his stare. Liang adjusted his collar. Shyu leaned forward.

Zuko continued. "As you know, when five of the old War Council members defected, I disbanded the rest." Zuko took a breath. "But this is a big country, and I need people I can trust to help run it. The seven of you, if you accept, are my new Civil Council."

Several people spoke at once, some at Zuko and some to whoever was next to them, but Zuko only heard Mai as she hissed into his ear, "Zuko, your message of 'meet me in the council hall this afternoon' could have been more specific; I might have assumed... never mind."

"Assumed what?" he asked.

"I said 'never mind', the men are starting to look at us. Go be Fire Lord." Mai's expression punctuated the end of the topic. Zuko shrugged and turned to face the others.

"I am honored and I accept." Tien said first.

"As do I." Jee said, without hesitation.

"My Lord, I am truly honored, but I must admit some confusion... what place does a sage have on the War Council?" Shyu asked slowly.

"I must object as well. I have no desire to return to the military." Jeong Jeong added.

Zuko shook his head and interrupted. "Wait. It's not a War Council, it's a Civil Council. This is not a group that plans invasions and raids. This is a group for promoting peace and prosperity." He paused a moment to think before continuing. "Each of you brings something different to the table. Yes, we have army and navy officers here, but also court nobles and spiritual leaders. People that have seen the world beyond their homes. I know I ask a lot, but our country needs us."

The room fell silent, but only for a moment. Piandao stood, regarded Zuko with a curt nod, and spoke. "I accept this office with honor, and will offer what wisdom I can. I am no military strategist or crafty politician though, Lord Zuko. I am a swordsman and an artisan, nothing more."

"And nothing less. Thank you, Master Piandao." Zuko said.

Piandao sat down and nudged Jeong Jeong roughly. Jeong Jeong snorted in response.

"I accept as well, Lord Zuko, insofar as it does not conflict with my duties to the Avatar." Shyu said.

"My Lord, if I may speak?" Admiral Liang finally found the courage to open his mouth, though his words barely squeaked out.

"Go on." Zuko said.

"Yes, thank you. I must humbly point out that I was once part of the very War Council you disbanded. I came here expecting to be arrested or... executed."

Zuko raised his one good eyebrow. "Do I have reason to make that the case?"

Liang paled. "No my Lord! I did not mean to disrespect your decision. I will accept your offer gladly!"

Zuko sighed and absently rubbed his forehead. "Listen, Admiral. I did my homework on this one. Getting access to my father's office has been enlightening, to say the least. He wrote a lot of things down. One of those things was a series of parchments dedicated to council members and his perceptions of them. He felt you were a potential threat, often subtly expressing dissent without outright saying it, and wasting resources supporting enemy civilian refugees or prisoners of war, but that you could be controlled with threats against your family. He kept you around for your superior organizational skills and fleet management experience, which also happens to be what I need. Now relax, I do not rule by fear and I welcome dissenting opinions... most of the time."

Color returned to Liang's face and he bowed graciously. "My family is my world," Liang said in a near whisper, "it was my hope that victory would allow my grandchildren a chance to grow up without the horrors of war.

Zuko merely nodded. He knew Liang had killed people in the war. Being not as cruel as his fellow Admirals, Zhao and Chan, did not mean much. But his Uncle had killed and destroyed in his time as General, and he himself was well along a similar path at one time. Liang struck him as someone that, given time, could redeem himself and do great good for the country. Zuko turned to Mai and smiled.

"Like you even need to ask," she said, rolling her eyes.

Jeong Jeong let out a long, drawn-out sigh. Zuko turned to him and waited for the old man to speak, and found himself waiting for another sigh to pass before the ex-general finally spoke.

"You obviously need help, young Lord. It would be dishonorable for me to simply return to my nice, peaceful, comfortable farm under such circumstances."

* * *

The afternoon waned to evening, time's passage marked by the rapidly descending sun. Aang held onto Appa's reins with one hand and shielded his eyes with the other. The sun was only going to get lower, and Aang was tempted to try flying Appa backwards to spare his vision. He wasn't sure if Appa could do that though... he'd have to try when there were less pressing matters at hand, if ever a moment would present itself in his lifetime. Aang sighed.

He sat atop his animal companion's head, donned in the flowing robes of a head monk with an Air Nomad amulet around his neck. It was the very same attire he wore at Zuko's coronation, provided by Zuko himself. Aang didn't ask how he got them. They both knew. It was a nice gesture just the same. Although Aang preferred lighter clothing for travel, he had to admit the robes made him feel more officially the Avatar, and he had a feeling he would need to look the part in Taku.

Confident that Appa would stay on course for awhile, Aang flipped himself up onto the saddle to join his friends. They were all dozing, not quite asleep but not quite awake. Sokka absently twirled his boomerang around one finger while Katara greeted him with a smile. Both siblings still wore garments similar to what they originally left the south pole with nearly a year ago. The Water Tribe was practical, they dressed in layers that could be added or removed easily. Toph, who was clasped onto the edge of the saddle with Momo asleep in her lap, had packed away her old yellow and green tunic and replaced it with a relatively tighter-fitting, but still baggy, forest green outfit: a green shirt, green trousers, with a sort of black tabard bearing the flying boar insignia, bound at the waist with a thick leather belt. Her hair was let down into a simple, long ponytail, which whipped around in the wind. One could actually tell she was a girl from a distance now, without entirely sacrificing her tomboyish image. No one had the courage to question the change, and Toph acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"I hope you hopped up here to tell us we're landing soon. We've been flying half the day." Toph said.

"Try flying from Ba Sing Se to the Fire Nation Capital in one day, with the comet coming, knowing Zuko's crazy sister is waiting for you when you get there. That's a long flight." Katara responded.

"Try riding on a giant lizard across everything from mountains to oceans with the comet coming and knowing there was a fleet of airships full of firebenders waiting for you." Sokka countered.

"I'm going to have to side with Katara on this one, Snoozles. Flying all day and thinking about comet-powered Azula the whole time is about the worst trip I could imagine." Toph said.

Aang laughed. "I know it's been a long day up here. We're just crossing near the Forked River now. Another hour or so and we can rest for the night in the town of Chitaku; it's a small village at the outskirts of the old city ruins."

"Usually you love random detours Aang, what's the hurry?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know, for some reason I feel like we're going to get some answers in Taku. I don't like these disappearances, and something about the Taku project makes me uncomfortable."

"Avatar stuff?"

Aang just shrugged.

"Hmm," Sokka continued, "well, in the meantime, I got an idea for finding King Kuei. I went over the documents we got from Hao, mostly reports of possible leads and bear sightings. There's a good chance that he's somewhere in the Western Earth Kingdom."

"That doesn't narrow it down much." Katara said.

"Let me finish!" Sokka replied. "We can find someone else in the Western Earth Kingdom to help us... Jun!"

"The bounty hunter? Do you have something with Kuei's scent?" Katara asked.

"Um... no. Damn, forgot about that." Sokka frowned.

"Aang, can't you use that weird spirit tracking trick?" Toph asked.

"I don't think so, I can only find people I'm closely connected with. I don't think I would be able to recognize Kuei's spirit as well as I could find you guys."

"I got an idea," Katara said, "what if we visit Aunt Wu? Makapu isn't far from here."

"Fortune-telling Katara? Come on." Sokka said. "Even if you still believe that nonsense, it's never precise enough. It'll be 'you'll find a king at a waterfall' and we'll be checking waterfalls for days and end up just finding the King tile for a Pai Sho set!"

Katara crossed her arms, but didn't argue.

"Do you guys smell smoke?" Toph asked after a moment, sniffing the air. "It doesn't smell like a campfire or a cooking fire either."

Aang peered over the edge of the saddle. In the distance to the north, where the river's two main tributaries joined, was a large town. Aang recognized this as Dragon's Tongue, the Fire Nation colony near where he had originally met Jeong Jeong. It was also one of the towns that was participating in the rebuilding of Taku, in exchange for a voice in the Taku government. Presently, it appeared to be on fire in several places.

The Avatar dropped to Appa's reins and seized them, turning Appa towards the town. Appa bellowed and picked up speed, sensing the boy's urgency.

"What, what is it?" Toph asked.

"Looks like a town is on fire." Sokka said.

"Renegades?" Toph asked.

"Unlikely, that's a Fire Nation colony." Sokka replied as he gathered up his boomerang, club, and machete.

Appa landed just outside the town walls, and the four jumped off and surveyed the scene. There was a huge, perfectly round hole in the wall straight ahead. The nearby forest to the west, near the town's front gates, was ablaze in some places. To the east, people could be heard screaming.

It was from the east that a woman in a faded red tunic, carrying a young child, emerged from some tall grasses about a hundred yards away. As she ran, stones sailed from behind her, stones too large for the average person to be able to throw. She managed to avoid the volley for the most part, but one stone struck her back. She staggered and turned, letting loose a wild spurt of fire towards the grass, but it didn't reach anything.

Aang deployed his glider and shot forward to close the distance. As he approached, several people in mismatched uniforms emerged from the fields, some running at great speed, others riding on earthen waves or sleds. They all launched another volley of stone. Aang snapped his glider closed and landed between the woman and the incoming rain of earth, bending a wall from the ground to deflect the attack. The woman turned and gasped.

"The Avatar! Oh, thank you! Thank the spirits!"

"What's going on here?" Aang asked.

"They claim to be Earth Kingdom soldiers 'liberating their territory', but they're just thieves and bandits. Most of our town guard is away helping in Taku. They're destroying our homes, herding the people into these pits-"

The wall of earth Aang erected collapsed suddenly, and even larger stones flew straight at Aang and the woman. He barely had time to shatter them with fire blasts. Not wanting things to escalate any further, Aang swung his staff and knocked over the half-dozen earthbenders with an arc of wind.

"Stop this now! Who are you and why are you attacking this town?" Aang yelled.

The men got back to their feet and stared, ready to continue their attack before realization set in. Their expressions of grim determination were quickly replaced by fear. One of the earthbenders stepped forward, his face a mask of calm. Aang's friends now caught up to him, riding on Toph's earth wave. For a moment, there was silence.

"Avatar Aang," the earthbender finally said, bowing, "our humblest apologies. We did not realize it was you. We're under orders from Ba Sing Se to reclaim this land for the Earth Kingdom and arrest the invaders to stand trial for threatening our sovereignty."

"You don't look like soldiers to me..." Aang said.

"Who cares what they look like, he's lying through his teeth!" Toph said.

"Little girl, I don't appreciate your accusations. We may look a little rag-tag, but the war recovery has required a tightening of the belt... you understand."

Aang frowned. "If Toph doesn't believe you, neither do I. Tell your men to-"

He was cut off by a loud explosion echoing within the walled village. Seizing the opportunity provided by the distraction, the earthbending men began to flee back towards the east.

"This is getting out of control, we have to split up to cover more ground." Sokka said.

"You're right. Sokka, Katara, go into the town and stop any fires and anyone attacking the townspeople. Toph, chase those earthbenders down. I'll get back on Appa and stop the forest fire, then meet up with you;" he turned towards the woman and her child, "come with me."

"I'll show that jerk who the 'little girl' here is!" Toph said, tearing off eastward.

Katara and Sokka moved towards the hole in the town wall. Aang took the womans hand and led her back towards Appa, who was already approaching to move away from the encroaching forest blaze. Momo flew in circles around Appa, chattering loudly.

"Is he... safe?" the woman asked.

"Safest place to be right now is on Appa's saddle!" Aang said, smiling, before he lifted the woman and child up on a column of air and deposited them on the bison's back. Aang took to Appa's reins.

"Yip yip!"

The scene from the air looked considerably worse than it had just minutes ago. The small fires had now become larger, and Aang surmised the explosion was the result of detonating blasting jelly. Fortunately, this town was right next to a river, and the sun was low enough that the light of the moon was also visible. Aang supposed he was the only one in the world who would feel the strange sensation of one aspect of himself becoming empowered as another was weakened.

Briefly activating the Avatar State, Aang drew up an enormous glob of water from the river at a considerable distance, and began rolling it gently through the forest to douse the fire. The woman watched with awe from Appa's saddle and held her child closely as the seemingly unstoppable blaze was put out in mere seconds.

"Appa, stay up here buddy." Aang said just before diving off the bison and gliding down towards the village.

He landed in the middle of the town square, where he spotted Katara bending water from the central well and raining it down on any buildings in reach. Sokka was watching her back, knocking down stone projectiles with his weapons and warding off some attackers wielding hammers. Aang noticed an occasional metal-tipped bolt shoot out from the window of a nearby home, catching marauders in the legs or at least forcing them to back away.

The Avatar, looking more annoyed now than angry, swung his staff at the 'soldiers' attacking Sokka, knocking them off their feet and sending their weapons flying with a concentrated burst of air. Before they could get back up, Aang bent some water from the well and froze them to the ground.

"You two okay?" Aang asked.

"We're alright, most of the thugs took off when you got here, and some guy up there is a pretty good shot." Sokka replied, pointing to a dark window.

"There's too much fire and not enough water here Aang, the well is almost dry." Katara said.

"I'll take care of it, you go help Toph, she's outside the east gate and it feels like she has a lot of company." Aang said as he dug his heel into the ground.

Katara and Sokka nodded and ran east. Aang stomped the ground near the well, opening a fissure to a deeper underground reservoir, and pulled a large spout to the surface. Water shot into the air like a geyser, and Aang rode to top of the spout and redirected the water as he saw fit, sometimes mixing it with air and whipping the water into a snowy froth. Eventually, the fires were stopped.

Aang landed back in the square and returned the well to its previous state. He noticed that the men he had captured in ice had somehow escaped, but had no time to follow their trail. He flew over the east gate to rejoin his friends.

Aang gasped at what he saw on the other side of the wall. The ground was torn asunder and pillars and spikes jutted out in random directions. Toph was sitting on the ground and Katara was kneeling behind her, healing the back of her head. Sokka was trying to calm down a very panicky crowd of colonists. The Avatar glided over to Toph and Katara and landed gently.

"Twinkle-toes, that you?" Toph asked.

"It's me... are you-"

"I'm fine, just a bump on the head. Most of those guys were pushovers, but some of them were actually pretty good, especially the mouthy one... I got careless." Toph frowned. "I must be getting sloppy."

"I'm just glad you're alright Toph... this is more than a little bump," Katara said as she worked her water around in slow circles, "if I wasn't here to treat you, this could have turned into a serious injury."

"Yeah, yeah, Sweetness... just fix me up so I can chase those guys down and pound them some more." Toph replied. Katara's eyebrows twitched and Toph yelped. "Hey, careful!"

"Sorry!" Katara sang.

"I don't think we're going to be chasing them down tonight Toph," Aang said, "they're already pretty far away, and we have to get these people back in their homes."

"Aw come on! That's twice you've let the bad guys get away in one week!" Toph said.

"I'm not going to let them get away, we can track them down tomorrow. We can't leave this town undefended tonight." Aang said, crossing his arms.

Toph groaned. "I don't think we'll find them tomorrow. I can already feel them mucking around down by the river, maybe a boat... I can't see real well right now. Just who were those guys anyway?"

"Not the Fire Nation renegades," Sokka said, walking away from a line of villagers moving carefully back towards their homes, "but definitely not legitimate Earth Kingdom soldiers. They were a bit better and more organized than the average bandits though too. And they weren't raiding for valuables, just capturing people in deep pits and destroying everything else."

"Maybe they have Kuei." Aang said.

"This is the first attempt to take Fire Nation citizens though... seems like a different group. Doesn't really feel like a big conspiracy to me, just angry earthbenders looking to even the score."

"Will you two stop yapping? You're making my headache worse!" Toph yelled.

Aang took out his bison whistle and summoned Appa down. "Let's just keep an eye on things here tonight."


	11. Work and Play

Chapter 11: Work and Play

Although the sun had yet to kiss the horizon, the palace courtyard was already shrouded in shadow cast from the high walls and hedges. Mai walked into the clearing with grace and silence; flares of yellow and orange light glinted in the corners of her eyes. Her face was set in a frown as she approached her beloved, who was walking through basic firebending katas for the second time today. With a hardly perceptible flick of her wrist, she launched a small dagger at the tree nearest Zuko.

"Don't you ever take a break?" she asked as the blade stuck deep into the trunk, not bothering to disguise the annoyance in her voice.

Zuko jumped and turned, fire trailing the tips of his fingers before sputtering out. "Mai! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"You're exhausted; if I were an assassin you'd be the easiest mark in the world right now."

"I assure you, Lady Mai, an assassin would not have made it to the courtyard." A voice called from the stone path behind her. Inuzo's almost lanky frame walked towards the pair, immaculately groomed now with a clean shave and very short, dark hair, and bowed low, then looked pointedly at the knife lodged in the tree and turned to Mai. "Throwing sharp objects in the general direction of the Fire Lord-"

"Is fine, for her. She's just... expressing herself." Zuko interrupted.

Mai huffed as Zuko turned back to her. "Jee and his guards are around. I approved Inuzo's transfer request from the 41st to the Royal Guard too, and as you can see he takes the post very seriously."

Zuko turned back to Inuzo. "Continue your patrol, Guardsman."

Inuzo bowed again before leaving. "Yes, my lord."

Mai hardly waited for Inuzo to walk ten paces before picking up where she left off. "It's not just about your safety, Zuko. If you're not busy reading old documents, stuffing your vocabulary with fancy words, or personally interviewing everyone that works in or around the Capital, you're practicing firebending!"

"I need to do all those things; it's my responsibility. I have to keep training and studying until I get it all right." Zuko responded evenly.

"Do you have any idea what- who you sound like? You just put a new council together today and then promoted Tien to General. A council I'm a member of. Wasn't the point of that so you don't have to do everything yourself?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can just lay around!" Zuko shouted.

"Do you know what time it is?" Mai asked, her voice now under a blanket of restraint.

Zuko looked up at the twilight sky. "I don't know... not quite sunset? Evening? Tea time?"

Mai crossed her arms and stared at him.

"Dinner..." Zuko finally said. "Mai, I'm sorry, it just..."

"Slipped your mind, I know." She wanted to stay angry at him, but couldn't. She knew she was being selfish and petty, but at the same time felt justified in demanding some of his time be spent with her and not his royal station. "I understand, Zuko, I do. Just get cleaned up. I'll tell the servants to prepare something else."

Mai turned and walked back towards the palace before stopping and speaking softly over her shoulder. "Zuko, even you need to rest sometimes. Don't burn yourself out."

She left the courtyard and turned into one of the pillared hallways that ran the perimeter of the palace. No sooner than she had rounded the corner around the first pillar did she nearly walk into Inuzo, who stopped short in his marching stride. He bowed.

"Lady Mai. I meant no disrespect earlier, please forgive me."

Returning a slight nod in response, Inuzo continued his patrol route past her. Mai couldn't remember if she saw him moving along the hall beforehand or not.

_ Maybe I need more rest too._

She glanced towards the slowly retreating form of the swordsman, his posture stiff and movement almost mechanical, quite different from the way he moves in combat. She saw him fight Kahchi. His movement in that fight was anything but rigid and chunky, it was fluid and almost too fast to follow. He slashed and parried with bestial alacrity and equally primal viciousness. She could easily envision him going into a mindless killing spree shouting 'for the Fire Lord!' with each strike. When his standard issue longsword was sheathed, however, he was just a dull, overachieving young soldier. Mai sighed.

_ Weirdo._

* * *

She had only watched half the play and already felt certain she'd never hear the adoration of her subjects again. Azula was so beyond furious at how she was portrayed in this show that she had gone numb from it. Her character was an appalling caricature that garnered no respect, instilled no fear, and bore no regal poise. Instead an unattractive, flabby woman represented her on the stage as a screeching, compulsively lying, fire-spitting daddy's girl. To top it all off, she wore pink.

Azula should have known it the instant newer posters near the building announced the play had undergone 'numerous revisions'. Fire Nation playwrights did not create their stories without making sure it pandered to the largest possible audience. Azula scoffed at the concept before remembering her original reason for coming here was precisely to have her ego scratched by the play she saw advertised in the older flyer.

The princess leaned against the wall outside the Ember Island Playhouse, well away from where any of the other patrons would bother her. She dressed in the most commonplace outfit she could find: leather sandals, loose burgundy pants that fell just below her knees, a thin, braided leather belt, and a red shirt with wide sleeves that went just past her elbows. Her hair was finally combed out, clean, and free of debris; she tied it in a high ponytail with a bit of red cloth. She evened out her bangs and kept the hair out of her eyes with the only adornment she felt wouldn't draw much attention: a modest silver headband (it was the only piece of jewelry that she had left in her old room at the beach house). She hid most of her scratches and bruises with creams and ointments, but stuck with her decision to forego makeup. She couldn't look at a mirror long enough to apply it evenly anyway.

Azula heard the faint ring of a bell announcing that the intermission was nearly over. Despite how awful the performance had been, curiosity kept her seated in the first half. She had learned how the Avatar was discovered and released (_damn that waterbender)_, got a few laughs at Zuko's chain of failed capture attempts, and grew nauseated by the love story between the Avatar and the Southern Tribe girl (_why can't her part be smaller?) _that insisted on being in nearly every scene. She learned a great deal about Zhao's own failures that he neglected to report to her father, not to mention that Zuko had beaten him in an Agni Kai _(got lucky, no doubt)_. The three traveling on that flying furry meat-sack apparently caused a lot more trouble for the Fire Nation than she was aware of: a prison break, blockade run, and they turned away an entire division at the Northern Air Temple. Oddly, they also saved the lives of dozens of Fire Nation colonists in Gaipan from the bombing of a local dam.

_ Why would they do that?_

It was her character's entrance in the second act that nearly caused her to stand up and scream in the middle of the audience. First she watched herself get thrashed by stage-Zuko and Uncle Fatso on board her own cruiser, all the while acting like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum. Then she apparently threatened to eat baby Tomtom in Omashu as revenge for Mai's parents failing to keep the city under control. Then she was cackling madly and dancing around like a drunk when she shot Uncle in the back with fire in that abandoned town (_Zuko's version of the story?)_. The last scene before the break was her getting pummeled by the Avatar on board the giant drill.

_ Is that how I'll be remembered now?_

Azula found herself back in her seat for the second half of the play. Surely her genius conquering of Ba Sing Se couldn't be so horribly perverted. Surely there was at least one moment her character wasn't a target of derision and mockery.

"Are you okay?" asked a young, female voice from the chair to her right.

Azula turned slowly right, for the first time noticing someone was actually seated next to her. During the first half of the performance, she was certain no one sat near her... or perhaps she just didn't notice? Azula could only tilt her head in response, hoping the little brunette would be deterred by silence. It didn't work.

"You look kinda... ill. Dehydrated maybe? Want some of my tea?" the girl asked.

Azula looked at the tall wooden cup the girl was holding. It was more than simply tea, it looked to have an assortment of fruits blended into it. Considering all Azula had managed to find at the house was cured meats and water, the drink seemed extremely appealing. She took it with some hesitation and drank half the concoction down. The girl just stared at her.

"What?" Azula asked.

"Nothing. You look a bit better now, you can have the rest," the girl said.

Azula nodded and sipped at the remainder of the drink slowly. The girl seemed to fidget in her seat.

"Why?" Azula asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Hmm? The drink? Seems like you needed it more than I did," the girl replied.

More silence.

"You watch plays often?" she asked.

"No." Azula replied.

"You seem pretty into this one."

"Hm." Azula replied.

"I'm On Ji, by the way."

"Ilah." Azula said. _My late grandmother's name? Brilliant, Azula. Brilliant._

"You here by yourself?"

"Yes."

"I'm here on a class trip."

_Great, a schoolgirl. How old is she, twelve, thirteen maybe? Wait, how old am I?_ "Shouldn't you be with your classmates?"

"I am. This is my friend Shoji," On Ji gestured to the boy on her right, who waved meekly. "All my classmates are in this section. Plus you."

"Oh." Azula began to stand.

"Hey wait, you can stay here, it's not like we reserved seats or anything. Relax! So what was your favorite part so far?" On Ji asked.

Azula stared for a moment, then settled back into her seat. "The Northern Siege I suppose." _Why am I having this conversation?_

"Oh, yeah. That must have been terrifying for both sides. I didn't know the Avatar could turn into a giant fish-monster!" Shoji suddenly shot in.

"You know, Shoji and I met the Avatar once. It's supposed to be a scene in the play." On Ji said in a whisper.

"Oh?" Azula rolled her eyes.

"Yes. He disguised himself as a student and snuck into our school."

This piqued Azula's interest. "What did he do?"

"You'll see." On Ji smiled.

"Aren't you angry that he invaded our country and spied on you?" Azula asked.

On Ji just shook her head. The lights in the theater dimmed as firebenders brought the torches down to the merest of flickers. The show continued where it left off, in Ba Sing Se.

Much to Azula's dismay but no longer to her surprise, her character continued to be an object of loathing. Now she listened to herself seduce Long Feng, and not with promises of power. Azula furiously downed the remainder of her drink. Only the fight in the catacombs remained remotely accurate: she convinced Zuko to fight with her, the Dai Li came, she shot the Avatar with lightning. Then a good portion of the crowd booed. Azula stared around with complete shock. _These people are sheep-pigs. Mindless herd animals._

The third act, as On Ji promised, had a scene in which the Avatar infiltrated a school... to throw a dance party. The stage erupted into a song and dance number. Azula raised an eyebrow at the girl next to her. On Ji just laughed.

"Yep, that's pretty much how it went." On Ji said.

The story only got more ludicrous as the Avatar's group protected a small fishing village from their own army. _Preposterous. The military is the sword of the Fire Nation people, as the Fire Lord is its heart and mind. There was never some impoverished fishing town drowning in toxic mud from a war factory. These writers should be executed! Sure, the nation had peasants, working class... that's the natural order. We all had a part to play in this war... the leaders and the led. Enough._

Azula stood and walked up the aisle and out into the main hallway. She made straight for the exit but a portly man wheeled a cart in front of her.

"Excuse me miss, would you like a souvenir before you leave?" the man asked.

Azula was about to backhand the man when a glint of metal caught her eye. Arranged neatly on a small rack upon the cart was a set of throwing knives exactly like the ones Mai used. The steel gleamed white, the red trimming gave the appearance that the weapons were already coated in dried blood. The weapons seemed to shake and vibrate before slowly peeling into long strips and standing themselves upright. In moments she was staring at a miniature cage with two metallic girls shaking the bars and crying out.

"Azula, don't let us rot in here... we're sorry!" cried the girls before they rusted and crumbled away.

"Not now... not now!" Azula screamed.

"Well sorry! Good day miss!" the chubby peddler sniffed and rolled his cart away.

Azula shook her head and tried to get her bearings back. Finding the exit again, she left the building and walked down the wooden stairs towards the beach. It wasn't long before she heard Ty Lee's voice.

"Did you enjoy the play Azula?" Ty Lee asked.

"I most certainly did not, I've never been so angry in my life." Azula snapped, staring at the ground and clenching her fists.

"I think I've seen you angrier, once." Ty Lee said.

Azula stopped as a flash of intuition prompted her to look up. Instead of a pink-clad Ty Lee hallucination, she saw her childhood friend in heavy armor and white face paint, along with six similarly dressed girls – like armored ghosts – but these ghosts were not part of her imagination. Azula's eyes widened.

"I'm not going back there," the princess said.

"No, hopefully you'll go to prison where you belong this time," Suki responded. The Kyoshi leader gestured to the other girls and they began moving towards the princess with fireproof restraints. Ty Lee just looked on with a frown.

"Leave me alone!" Azula screamed, swiping her hands towards the nearest warrior. Trailing her hands was a wave of heat and a few odd tufts of flame. Azula stared at her hands in surprise. Her potential captors deployed their shields and continued to move towards her. They were now only a few steps away.

_Fire is fueled by emotion. Rage, fury, passion... but above all, drive. Drive is what you must lock onto and use, for an emotional person is easy to manipulate in battle, but a truly driven person is __invincible._

Her father's words. Azula suddenly realized that with her freedom came a renewed desire to keep it that way. It was a simple, primitive, and perhaps minimalist ambition to have, but it was enough. She sprung backwards onto her hands and then again to her feet, increasing the distance between herself and the painted jailers. Then she put her middle and forefingers together on one hand, took a breath, and swept towards the ground.

Flame jetted from her fingers and burned away the grasses poking out through the sandy sidewalk. It was weak, ordinary fire – she could do better when she was ten years old even – but it was still fire. The Kyoshi warriors blinked for a moment at the princess before launching forward in a full sprint. Azula turned back towards the playhouse and ran as fast as her legs would take her. The crowd was her only chance now.

As she ran back up the sandy path to the playhouse, Azula tried to summon up greater flames to slow her pursuers. She heard a whirling sound in the air and rolled to the side, narrowly missing a thrown surujin (two heavy objects, usually stones or bags of sand, tied together by a yard of rope or chain). Taking a deep breath and a well-rooted stance, she spun on one heel and kicked towards the warriors, but the splash of fire was hardly more threatening than a thrown candle. In fact, she was certain she could hurl a lit candle over a greater distance and cause more damage with it. Growling, she resumed running to the playhouse.

_Plan, plan, I need a plan. Firebending is back, but severely ineffective. Seven of them, all trained in hand-to-hand, probably armed with those ridiculous fans; might be able to take out a few, but Ty Lee and the leader would be much more difficult. Retreat, reposition, engage on my terms._

Azula entered the open entry hall of the playhouse. Stealing a glance backwards, she saw the warriors split off into twos and threes, no doubt to cut off escape routes. With a smile, she slid back into the darkened theater. She was met with almost deafening noise.

The stage was bathed in eerie red light, with two figures dancing around each other, throwing streamers while stagehands operated other visual or audible effects. The woman who played the part of the Avatar had her glowing paint lit up as phony rocks, chunks of ice, and fireballs spun around her, suspended on wires. The tall man, who must be representing her father in gaudy, golden attire, had fallen on his back.

"Fire Lord Ozai," a chorus of voices bellowed from behind the stage curtain, "you and your ancestors have threatened the balance and peace of this world for one hundred years, prepare to die!"

"Noooo!" yelled the man in gold as all the flying 'elements' whirled towards him, but at the last moment, they stopped and then whirled off-stage. The Avatar landed next to the Fire Lord, her back turned.

"I cannot take a life..." the Avatar said.

The Fire Lord rose to his feet and snarled, "Even with all that power, you are pathetic!" He looked ready to pounce.

"...but I can take this." the Avatar finished.

What Azula saw next she didn't quite understand. During her time at the Tomo Facility, the guards and healers told her little of the outside world, insisting she focus on herself only. No one told her what happened to her father, other than that he lost to the Avatar and was now in prison. Now she watched as the stage was bathed in white light and the chorus hummed. The Avatar-actress grabbed the Fire Lord by the shoulders and he shook violently for a few moments until she released him.

"What did you do to me?!" the Gaudy Lord asked.

"I took your bending away; you'll never be able to harm anyone with it again." The audience erupted into applause.

_What? The Avatar can steal bending away? Incredible._ Azula wondered at how much truth there was in this scene. It was oddly specific for it to be something of pure fiction. Certainly there were differences in the real battle, but the simple assertion that Ozai can no longer bend struck her as something that must be true. It explained the grisly sword he was using at the Tomo Facility.

Azula's shock and wonder at the scene abruptly shifted to rage. _Wait a minute. He called me useless... disappointing! Because I could not bend for him! And he cannot bend at all! How could he justify leaving me there!_

"You damned hypocrite!" Azula screamed. Her words struck out with wisps of fire from her mouth and cascaded over the theater. Half the audience stopped their applause of the final battle scene and turned towards the disruptive girl with confusion, amusement, or annoyance.

Azula paled. _I'm supposed to be escaping capture, not drawing attention to myself and watching more of this horrible excuse for entertainment._ _Now I have half this room staring at me!_

"Yeah, he is a damn hypocrite!" shouted a male voice.

"Shut up, Hide!" shouted another voice.

The audience now turned towards this new disruption or back to the play, which had thankfully continued through the entire outburst. Azula let out a sigh of relief as she quietly walked along the wall and opened a side door marked 'Stage Crew Only'. No one seemed to notice her as she slid in, but as she closed the door quietly she caught a glimpse of two Kyoshi Warriors enter the theater from the main hall.

_Not much time._

The door lead to a hall which wrapped behind the stage. Most of the doors in the hall were marked as dressing rooms, but at last Azula found the room she was looking for, marked 'Props/Equipment/Effects'. She ducked inside quickly. As expected, it was filled with costumes, colorful objects made mostly of paper and wood, and containers of oil-based paints, among other things. Azula smiled as she lit a small flame in the palm of her hand.

* * *

Sokka gave the rope in his hand one last pull to make sure the knot was tight, securing the group's belongings to the back of Appa's saddle. A chill wind blew across his shoulders as tiny points of light sparkled off the morning dew. Sokka groaned; he hated being up this early.

Unfortunately, sleeping in was not an option today. First off, they spent the night in a Fire Nation colony, and even colony towns got _busy_ by first light. Secondly, they were eager to track down those earthbending marauders, if possible. Aang was scouting along the river on his glider already.

Toph sat by the front of the saddle, still wearing her new outfit with the little flying boar insignia and still wearing her hair down, although now she had a bandage wrapped around her head. That detail was baffling. Toph never lost in open combat, let alone got injured, unless someone took a hostage. Sure, she could be ambushed (and even that was difficult) and there was the incident with her feet and Zuko, but in general she could take on multiple opponents twice her size and come out without a scratch. What really threw him is that a group of earthbenders managed to hurt her, seeing as tackling groups of overconfident earthbenders was practically her specialty. Even Dai Li in the dozens had trouble taking her out. Still, it wouldn't do to press her on it. _Lucky hit I guess, even a blind squirrel-mink can find a nut sometimes..._ w_ow, I'm so glad I didn't say that out loud._

Sokka felt a rush of air and heard the tell-tale snap of Aang's glider closing. The Avatar landed in the middle of the saddle.

"Toph was right, I think they took a boat downstream. They could be out at sea by now; they could be anywhere." Aang said.

"Told you so," Toph replied, crossing her arms.

"Toph..." Sokka started.

"Yeah, yeah, protect the village, blah blah blah. I get it," Toph said.

"Where's Katara?" Aang asked, changing the subject.

"She just went back into town to get some fresh mangoes or something. She should be back any minute," Sokka said.

"For the last time, I don't need your help carrying these!" Katara's voice echoed from a few paces beyond the town gate.

"Oh but my lady, it is not a matter of your need, for I can tell you are quite the capable young woman, but rather a matter of etiquette," replied a male voice, young and smooth, like he treated each word as a delicate glass figurine. Sokka raised an eyebrow and began to stand as Aang spun around to face the approaching pair.

"Hey Aang! Any luck spotting those earthbenders?" Katara called as she jogged up to the bison.

"No. Who's he?" Aang pointed with his staff at Katara's follower. Sokka stifled a laugh and snorted.

"I don't know, some-" Katara started.

"Call me Ren. It is an honor to meet the Avatar and his esteemed colleagues." the boy said, bowing slightly.

Sokka leaned over the saddle to watch the fireworks as Aang hopped down to Katara and Ren. Ren was perhaps Katara's age, of average height, weight, and build. He had black hair pulled back into a typical Fire Nation topknot, though apparently he had a lot of it as some hung loose and draped down the back of his neck, stopping at his shoulders. His eyes were a light brown, bright and friendly, though Sokka felt they contained a hint of mischief. He had small, almost pointy nose and an easy smile.

Ren was dressed as someone ready to travel, with brown trousers, heavy black boots, and a dark red tunic trimmed with gold. Whoever he was, it looked like he wasn't for want of money. What really grabbed Sokka's attention, however, was the equipment hanging from his belt: a long, thin blade in its scabbard on his left, and what appeared to be a miniature ballista on his right.

Aang seemed to have gotten control of himself.

"Hello Ren, thanks for offering to help Katara, but as you can see she doesn't need your assistance," he said, as Katara lifted the small basket of fruit up to Appa's saddle on a column of ice.

"A talented waterbender too! What you did with the well, Katara-"

"I didn't even tell you my name before." Katara interrupted. Aang smirked.

"Ah, of course. Well, I heard you mention tracking those earthbenders that attacked this town. I may be able to help you," Ren said.

"What do you know about them?" Sokka asked. Aang glared back at his friend in annoyance.

"I don't know anything in particular, but I have many contacts in this area of the Earth Kingdom. You see, I'm a bounty hunter, of sorts."

"Of sorts?" Katara asked.

Ren shuffled his feet, his smooth demeanor faltering for a moment before he brought it back up again. "Well, I haven't claimed many bounties yet."

"How many?" Sokka asked.

"Ahh... one." Ren replied.

"Well, was it at least a big burly bandit lord?" Sokka asked.

"Ah no... it was a... lost pet. But I do have lots of contacts! And I'm not useless in a fight either."

"That was you from the window?" Sokka asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for my first big break, and who better to serve than the Avatar himself? No charge!" Ren said.

"I don't know, Appa has enough people to carry already... don't you have family here?" Aang asked.

"Yes, I live with my mother... my father is away on business all the time. I'll just tell her I'm going on a short trip, she'll be glad to have me out of the house for a while." He grew a bit more serious. "Look, I owe you. The whole town does. Don't you want to catch those thugs?"

"Yes, we do!" Toph shouted from Appa's back.

"Great! I'll be back in a couple minutes, I just have to grab a couple things from the house. Don't worry, I travel very light! Don't leave without me!" Ren said as he took off running for the town.

Aang sighed. "I don't like him."

"You're just mad because he was talking up your girlfriend." Sokka said with a grin.

"Don't worry Aang, no one is going to take me away from you." Katara said, planting a quick kiss on his lips.

"Gross. Toph, was he lying or anything?" Sokka asked as Aang air-lifted himself and his sister onto the bison's saddle.

"I don't know, I'm not in contact with the ground, and I wasn't really paying attention. He sounded sincere enough and I'm hoping he continues hitting on Sugar Queen the whole trip. It'll be fun." Toph said smiling.

"What if he starts hitting on _you_ Toph?" Katara snapped.

"Meh," the blind girl responded.

"I don't think he knows she's ah, unavailable. Can you imagine anyone dumb enough to try and steal the Avatar's girlfriend? Aang would get his glow on and send him skipping across the continent!" Sokka accented his remark with skipping noises and bounced his hand along the saddle.

"I wouldn't do that, Sokka." Aang responded, frowning.

"Sure you wouldn't, buddy." Sokka laughed, putting an arm around his friends shoulder.

"What _would_ you do, Aang?" Toph asked casually.

"I'd send him away peacefully, simply asserting that his advances are unwelcome and he'd best move on," Aang said with a wise tone.

Sokka and Toph looked bored, Katara smiled.

"And if that doesn't work, I'll freeze his underwear. While he's wearing them." Aang remarked off-handedly.

Sokka winced. The girls laughed.

* * *

Ozai sat at the head of the table in this makeshift war room on board Azula's cruiser. Around the table sat War Minister Qin, General Shinu, Admiral Chan, and General Mung. Qin sat with his arms folded in the sleeves of his robes, posture straight and noble. Shinu, a short and somewhat rotund man with hair that had yet to start graying, sat with similar posture but no calmness, a frown stretched across his face. Chan, features similar to his son with a strong jaw and perfect grooming, leaned back with an almost casual posture, a habit that annoyed Ozai greatly. Mung, a combat veteran without noble upbringing, slouched while scratching at the jagged scar on his face. This was hardly a circle of power, but Ozai accepted it as first spark of what soon would become a mighty blaze.

"So, Bujing failed to contain my son," Ozai said.

"Yes, the General was slain, and the Rough Rhino's were either killed or captured along with any other soldiers Bujing took with him." Qin added.

"It seems Bujing underestimated Zuko, as have I. That boy is proving again and again to be much more capable than I ever gave him credit for. Perhaps if I had focused more on him and less on... no matter. What is the status of our forces?" Ozai asked.

"We have several destroyers, cruisers, and frigates in our fleet, mostly remnants of the Eastern Fleet." Chan continued reporting, "Unfortunately this puts our fleet in total at roughly a three to one disadvantage against Zuko's navy. However, I have many agents on board Zuko's ships that might give us an edge."

Mung spoke next. "Our land forces are somewhat less, but we do have plenty of armor. Most of our soldiers can be provided with tanks or mounts. Explosives are in abundance and we can continue manufacturing weapons."

Qin broke in. "Our air power is currently our greatest advantage. Due to great efforts in controlling information, Zuko does not know where the primary air ship factory is located, nor that we have complete control over it. We have twice the ships he has, and are currently building more."

"We also must realize," Shinu added, "that Zuko's forces will be spread over a large area, likely even assisting in rebuilding projects with other nations. If we concentrate our forces against the Capital at the right moment, we can seize it before he can even send for help."

Ozai felt a chill as he posed the question: "And the Avatar?"

"Our allies are keeping him busy in the Earth Kingdom. So far he has shown no inclination to come to the Fire Nation, although Zuko sends redundant messages to Ba Sing Se for him and Iroh, and we cannot intercept all the hawks."

Ozai growled. "Iroh... I had nearly forgotten about him. I want him dead! And I don't trust this rabble operating in the Earth Kingdom."

"Iroh will be dealt with, carefully, my Lord. As for our mysterious benefactors, I believe they are useful for now. Once we secure the Capital, we can dispose of them." Qin smiled.

Ozai regained his composure. The dynamics of this room was different than in the throne room. These men, particularly Qin, postured themselves like this was a partnership, not a monarchy he ruled with a burning hand. He suspected that their loyalty vanished along with his firebending, but he would play along for now. He was a resourceful man.

"Very well. Shinu, I want you to secure Pohuai Stronghold, discreetly. The rest of you, begin drafting plans for our assault."


	12. Concerted Efforts

Chapter 12: Concerted Efforts

Although the sky glowed dimly with cerulean pre-dawn light, it was technically still night. At night, a firebender's power was not only diminished; it also required more effort to produce fire at all. But Zuko could not sleep, and when he cannot sleep he trains, and at night he felt it was more practical to train with his swords. As he spun lightly, arms at full reach from his body, the blades in his hands caught traces of torchlight and flashed. From a distance, an observer might only see the occasional blink, as if a pair of dragon-fireflies forgot that summer had ended.

Even at this hour, Zuko could not be blessed with some time alone. People of the Fire Nation, firebenders in particular, rise with the sun. By being out in the courtyard before sunrise, he expected some peace and quiet. Yet a few minutes into his workout, he found himself under the patient observation of Piandao and Jeong Jeong. Apparently there is no accounting for the odd sleeping habits of old men.

At least he heard them coming. Being taken by surprise by Mai the previous evening had unsettled him, despite his casual dismissal of her concern and trust in the Royal Guard. True, Mai was quiet and light-footed, but she was not an assassin or a thief, and the whole scene struck Zuko as yet another weakness he would need to correct if he wanted to be worthy of his title. His senses needed to be honed along with his mind, his technique... and everything else. Zuko combined the twin swords and sheathed them, deciding that making his visitors wait any longer would be rude.

"I wasn't aware you possessed mastery over both blade _and_ flame, Zuko." Piandao said.

Zuko smiled wanly. "I wouldn't say I have mastery over either."

Jeong Jeong stroked his long, white beard. "Unusual for any firebender to bother with weapons at all."

Zuko picked up on the unasked question. "When I was younger, I was a terrible firebender. My father was disappointed, to say the least. I thought that I could make up for it by training with swords." Zuko's voice dropped as he added, "It's a skill that earned no attention from him, but hasn't been a complete waste."

"So you wake up before sunrise to practice?" Piandao asked.

"Something like that," Zuko replied. "I have a lot of... rough edges to smooth out."

"Oh? Well... perhaps we could spar some time." Piandao suggested.

"How about right now?" Zuko asked eagerly.

"I think I'd rather not swing sharp weapons at each other, in the dark and before morning tea, with all due respect," Piandao replied with a chuckle.

"Sokka told me you can fight with your eyes closed." Zuko smirked.

"I suppose I can."

"I wouldn't mind learning that."

"Lord Zuko," Piandao started, suddenly shifting from light-hearted sarcasm to quiet seriousness, "I'm sure you know that if you sharpen a blade too much, you'll be left with nothing but shavings."

Zuko's grin dissolved. "Did Mai put you up to this?"

"No, though we're aware she shares the same concern," the swordmaster replied.

Zuko snarled through clenched teeth. "Will everyone stop acting like I'm going to break down? I'm just doing my job!"

"Captain Jee mentions you've been trying to generate lightning," Jeong Jeong suddenly said.

Zuko was glad for the change of subject. "Yes, trying."

"He says it explodes in your face," the old firebender said.

"Yes, so far." Zuko didn't like where this was going.

"Yet you try the technique on a daily basis."

"Until I get it right, and then every day after to improve."

"Why?" Jeong Jeong pressed.

"What do you mean, 'why'?" Zuko nearly exploded. "That's how you get better, through practice! What kind of Fire Lord will I be if I just toss the technique my family has wielded for generations out the window? It's practically a rite of ascension!"

"Not every Fire Lord could conjure lightning." Jeong Joeng said.

"But most in recent history could, and the ones that could not probably lived in a peaceful time when weakness was a luxury. It's a luxury I can't afford." Zuko said coldly.

"Weakness? Firebending prowess alone does not a good leader make. Ozai is a perfect example of that." Jeong Jeong replied with equal coldness. "Lightning is a force of nature that can only destroy. Destroy threats to save others, perhaps, but I for one envy your ability to redirect it. Such life-saving techniques are a rarity in our element."

Zuko paused in thought for a moment. "I could teach you. Maybe in return you can help figure out whey my lightning explodes."

Jeong Jeong sighed.

"I don't spend all my time just practicing bending and swordplay, you know." Zuko said.

"We both understand that, Zuko," Piandao chimed back in, "and we didn't come here expressly to badger-mole you about your... rigorous routine. We actually came to suggest, as members of your council, that you contact the Avatar."

Zuko frowned and grew quiet for a moment. His shoulders seemed to sag a little, and his eyes were lost in thought. _Pride has no place when people's lives are at stake. But if I send for Aang, political enemies that haven't run off in outright rebellion will use it as proof that I can't handle-_

"My Lord, please pardon the intrusion, but I have a message for you," Zuko's thoughts were cut off by another voice, "black ribbon." A servant had entered the courtyard, bearing a sealed scroll. Again Zuko found himself slightly put off by not sensing this person's approach sooner. Perhaps such perpetual awareness was beyond him. Even Toph on rare occasions failed to notice people around her.

Zuko took the scroll from the messenger and unrolled it.

_Zuko,_

_ I have good news and bad news. We found Azula, alive, but in our attempts to bring her in she burned down the Ember Island Playhouse. I'll leave you to decide which news is which._

_ No one was hurt, fortunately. She just started a fire in a prop closet and slipped out with the crowd as the theater was evacuated. Don't worry, the fire was put out before it spread to other buildings. We suspect she's hiding somewhere in town and I'm confident she'll be apprehended soon._

_ Apparently she made a stop for supplies and a change of clothes at your family shore-house. What I find strange is that instead of immediately trying to disappear, she decided to go see a play and left a pretty obvious trail. In addition to that, her firebending is extremely weak. Does that happen from long periods of disuse?_

_ We're using your seal to order the local police to help establish a perimeter. Hope you don't mind!_

_ -Suki_

He wasn't certain which news was good. He found himself relieved that his sister was alive, although he may have been equally relieved in knowing she perished at sea. It also meant she was running amok and able to cause more damage, like burning a theater down and causing the public to panic. He couldn't say he felt a particular loss over the destruction of the Ember Island Playhouse, however. At least she wasn't with her father raising an army. Zuko rolled the scroll back up.

"Azula is alive. I have to respond to this," Zuko said to the old men waiting for him, "and I'll take your advice into careful consideration."

* * *

Katara found their guest's shamelessly flirtatious behavior and boasting grating more and more on her nerves by the minute. First, upon returning with a small bag and climbing onto Appa, he immediately made a comment about how the Avatar was so lucky to have _two_ beautiful girls traveling with him, which earned him a quick punch to the shoulder from Toph. This seemed to quiet him for a few minutes, seeing as he didn't understand the meaning of the 'gesture', and then Appa took off.

Ren was at first wide-eyed with excitement, but then quickly put on that blatantly phony mask again. He made some comment about how airships were smoother but about equally smelly. Aang essentially ignored him, but Toph and Sokka seemed to find his attitude hilarious. Wasn't it so obvious how fake he was being? Did he take himself seriously, or was the whole thing some kind of joke that only he, Sokka, and Toph understood? Katara was thankful the trip to Chitaku would be mercifully short compared to the distances they'd been covering lately.

"So, you any good with that thing?" Sokka eventually asked, pointing to the slim sword Ren had sheathed at his side.

Ren's fair-skinned hand drew the blade with a flourish. "One of the best swordsmen in the village."

Katara rolled her eyes.

Sokka inspected the blade as Ren held it out. It wasn't particularly remarkable, aside from being thinner and flatter than most swords Katara had seen. The handguard and pommel were shiny steel, but otherwise as low-profile as the blade itself. Her brother gave it an appraising flick with his fingers, and the metal wobbled slightly, ringing like a dull bell.

"Seems... flimsy," her brother said.

"Not flimsy. Flexible. Lighter, without being fragile." Ren returned his sword to his belt.

"What about that thing?" Sokka said, now pointing to Ren's other weapon.

"That- is a prototype crossbow," Ren said, this time leaving the object in place and only patting it with his hand.

"Prototype?" Sokka quirked an eyebrow.

"My mom is an engineer. Nowadays she works on things with more... domestic uses. This is a smaller, personal version of the harpoon launchers mounted on most Fire Navy ships," Ren said, adding, "but she didn't invent those. In fact most of her designs didn't seem to take. She sent a larger version of this prototype to the homeland, one designed to be carried on the shoulder and fire multiple bolts quickly, but all she got back was a modest commission."

"Any amount of money paid for designing killing machines is too much," Katara snapped.

Ren frowned. "Don't judge my mother. She was a colonial woman trying to survive and raise a son on her own. She didn't like making weapons, but that was what put bread on the table. Or do you hate all the blacksmiths of the world too?" Ren ended his query with that plastered smile again.

"Oh please, look at your clothes! Do you expect me to believe you're anything but a spoiled fire-colonial noble? I find it suspicious you're offering to help us in the first place!" Katara shot back.

Ren looked at his own gold-trimmed tunic and quality boots, as if only now noticing he was wearing them. "A recent development. My father has money, but he didn't know he was a father until just a few months ago. I've only met him once. He tries to make up for his continuing absence with gifts and gold." He concluded with a wave of his hand.

"That still doesn't explain why you're helping us," Katara said coldly.

"Katara, I think-" Sokka started.

"No, she's right," Ren interrupted, his pretense of smarmy charm again abandoned for a moment. "I'm helping you because I want to be more than the kid of a weaponsmith and a rich merchant. I don't want people to assume I'm an arrogant, _spoiled fire-colonial noble_, because I'm not. My mother is Fire Nation, but my father is Earth Kingdom. My loyalties are to both, and so I want to keep the peace you all fought for. The attack on Dragon's Tongue, to me, was like half my family attacking the other." Ren crossed his arms. "Satisfied?"

Katara found herself in a staring contest with Ren and immediately wished he went back to his obnoxious flirting. It wasn't that he was frightening or intimidating. He didn't appear angry and he wasn't trying to challenge her. His gaze was just penetrating, like he was reading the history written behind her eyes. He looked like he was expecting something, but she didn't know what it was. Salvation came from Toph.

"Well, Sweetness, sounds like he told you. Slick, I welcome you solely on the grounds that you are capable of stunning Katara into silence. The Bei Fong estate will reward you handsomely with every repeat performance." Toph applauded.

"Slick?" Ren shrugged with a laugh.

"We're coming up on Chitaku guys." Aang called from Appa's head. The bison banked slightly and began to descend. Katara took the opportunity to break away and lean over the edge of the saddle.

Below was a canvas of forest, mountains, and ancient ruins. Katara recognized some of the structures from almost a year ago, when she and Sokka became ill and took refuge in one of the more stable buildings while Aang went to find medicine. It was a place teeming with wildlife but cast in eerie quiet for the most part. Now, however, she could spot several pockets of activity, where groups of people were repairing buildings, shoring up walls, pushing carts of raw material, and a multitude of other activities she couldn't make out from their current altitude. At the peak of the highest mountain, a large and new-looking building shone white in the late morning sun.

Aang guided Appa down to a bustling village at the base of the mountain. Until the city of Taku was built up, Chitaku would be the hub of civilization in this part of the western Earth Kingdom. Yet despite being busy and important, Chitaku was still merely a village. As Appa made a final swoop before landing gently in the town square, Katara noticed that the village was completely encircled in hastily constructed shelters, tents, and pavilions for work. Fenced plots kept various animals, both for food and beasts of burden. She also spotted earthbent silos and warehouses. All these were guarded by soldiers in both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation uniforms. Suddenly the village looked to her like an over-stuffed barrel of fish just waiting to burst should someone give it a little kick.

Before the group could hardly take their first steps on solid ground, a party of men, green and red, approached them. Several looked like guards or laborers... perhaps both. One short and wiry man, a graying Fire Nation native with impeccable posture and draped with dark red robes, spoke first.

"Welcome, Avatar Aang," he said, "we've been expecting you and your companions for some time now. I am Overseer Lon."

"Expecting us?" Aang asked with a tilt of his head. Momo landed atop his scalp and imitated the gesture with an inquisitive chirp.

"Of course. The Assembly of Governors for the project mentioned you were interested in our progress and might drop by eventually."

"Well, I guess I did say that. I've had quite a few detours since then though... that's a long time to be expecting someone!" Aang replied with a smile.

"I assure you, Avatar, it was well worth the wait. You honor us-"

"Oh stop your pathetic groveling, Lon! It's embarrassing!" a tall, muscled, and bearded man interrupted from the side of the pack. His bearing and loose attire clearly screamed 'Earthbending Brute'. This tanned brute, however, seemed to have a sense of humor, giving the Overseer a light jab in the arm.

"I was not groveling! I'm merely showing some respect and etiquette, but I'd hardly expect _you_ to understand that," Lon snarled in response, but to Katara's surprise it held little venom.

The earthbender stepped forward and took Aang's arm in a vigorous handshake. "A pleasure, Aang. I'm Foreman Bo, but you can just call me Bo. I direct all the actual work around this dump while Lon here handles the boring record-keeping and paperwork. I'm pretty sure his title just means 'boarquill-pusher' in Fire Nation-ese." Bo let out a full belly laugh and the ground seemed to shake a little in response. Lon just groaned as the youngsters enjoyed the joke at the Overseer's expense.

"Yes, well..." Lon added, "somebody has to be the brains of the operation. Avatar, if you would like an audience with the Assembly, I'll be happy to arrange that for you. We'll also ensure your bison is well-fed and stabled, and you shall have the finest lodgings we currently can offer." Lon motioned for some of the workers flanking him to guide the bison away. Appa bellowed gently and seemed to consent.

"I appreciate a place to stay for both Appa and the rest of us, but I think I'd like to offer a hand here before I talk to any governors." Aang said.

Katara smiled to herself. _Translation: I can barely stand stuffy old politicians and aristocrats, I learn everything I need from mingling with the people._ She found herself swelling with pride for Aang. Even if he didn't have the powers of the Avatar, he would make a fantastic leader.

"Music to my ears, my boy!" Bo exclaimed. "Now let's see here, Lon made sure to brief me endlessly on all of you... the Avatar can bend mountains and oceans and whatnot, I bet there is plenty of heavy lifting you can do alone that would take dozens of ordinary benders to manage." Aang nodded humbly.

Bo turned to Katara. "Miss Katara, we have only a handful of waterbenders here from the North Pole, and they're all healers to treat accidental injuries. We're dealing with a bit of a water shortage that could use your finesse."

"I'd be happy to help," Katara said.

"Oh, and Miss Toph, we got plenty of earthbenders, but none that can bend metal. I'm sure the blacksmiths would greatly appreciate your unique talents."

"Sheesh...chores! Not even my parents made me do that!" Toph complained, but Katara caught her blushing a little at the compliment.

"That's because you're a rich kid with servants, Toph," Katara ribbed. Toph pouted.

"And Sokka, the engineers-" Bo started.

"Unfortunately, will have to wait," Sokka interrupted, "though I do appreciate not being left out of the 'Usefulness Club'. Our new pal Ren here and I have an appointment with some business associates, don't we Ren?"

"Absolutely, Sokka. This way," Ren said with a confident swagger. Katara watched her brother stroll away with the self-proclaimed bounty hunter, relieved to have some time away from him. Toph tapped the ground to determine where the blacksmiths were and walked away, while Bo described to Aang the 'heavy lifting' he wanted the Avatar to assist with. In minutes, Aang gave her a quick kiss and flew away on his glider with Momo in tow. Lon had excused himself to attend to other matters, leaving Katara standing next to the towering Bo.

"I hope you plan to stay a while; having master benders on the team makes my job a breeze, and the fact that you're volunteering makes my bean-counting buddy Lon wet himself! Hah!" Bo's laughter echoed in the town square.

Katara smiled. "I don't know how long we'll be here. Aang wanted to help with this project and make sure people were really getting along, but we ran into trouble on the way over." Katara's smile faded. "Earthbenders attacked Dragon's Tongue. We're hoping to track them down."

Bo snorted. "People need to loosen up. War is hell, kid. You know it, I know it. All sides lose in war. Seems brainless to try and start it all over again."

"Is that why you work with Lon?" Katara asked, before she could stop herself.

"Lon? I work with him because that's how we got assigned in this project. What you're really asking is why we aren't at each other's throats... or anyone else here for that matter."

"Yeah... that." Katara admitted.

"Don't get me wrong, Lon and I have our arguments. We both have old scars, scars that might open just by looking at each other the wrong way." Bo sighed. "But Lon isn't such a bad guy. He's no killer, and he always treats Earth Kingdom folk with the same respect he gives his own. If I were to guess, people here try to get along because it gives them hope that people actually _can_. It's only been a month and some weeks... I never would have believed we could make it this far, and yet here we are."

"I guess I didn't think about it that way..." Katara mused.

"Well, don't waste too much time thinking about it. We got a well that's nearly dry. Some of my boys have found an untapped underground water source, but earthbending is likely to make a mess of things. Think you can draw water up that you can't see?"

"I've done it before, actually," Katara said as she shoved away the memories of Jet and the town of Gaipan.

* * *

Suki tapped her fingers against the scabbard of her katana with obvious agitation. It was now well into the afternoon on Ember Island, and neither her warriors nor the conscripted local police had managed to find Azula or even pick up her trail. Following the fire at the playhouse last night, the princess had seemingly vanished, but Suki was quick to order a lockdown on departing ships and made sure each one was carefully searched before being allowed to sea.

Of course, she couldn't be certain the police were being entirely cooperative. Some of them may still be loyal to Ozai and therefore his daughter. She tried to spread her own girls out amongst the local guard, but the seven of them could not watch everyone. The longer it took to find Azula the more likely it was she'd coerce or threaten someone into helping her leave the island.

Suki walked as quickly as what could still be considered walking down the main street in what was Ember Island's only real town. It was, however, a rather large town, designed to cater to rich patrons and common tourists alike. Being accustomed to tracking in the wilderness more than a city, this only made Suki's job more difficult. If the many buildings and alleys were not bad enough, there were just too many people here, even in mid-autumn. And every person was a variable largely beyond Suki's control, even with Zuko's royal seal. Not for the first time, she wondered if wearing full Kyoshi regalia may not be the best idea, but pride and tradition continued to win out.

The Kyoshi captain stomped into the courtyard behind Ember Island's primary municipal building. The building was now functioning as a sort of central office for her search and capture efforts, and the pair of war balloons on lend from Zuko were parked and deflated on the open grass. She was about to storm through the side entrance to the building and hope for good news when a young officer stopped her.

"Captain Suki?" the officer asked.

"Yes?"

"I... have a suggestion, um, that might help detain Princess Azula... if you'll hear it."

Suki turned from the door, the officer now having her full attention. "Of course I'll hear it, what is your idea?"

The young man appeared nervous, hiding under his helm, although Suki couldn't guess why. He was a bit older than her, and taller, so she couldn't imagine he was intimidated. Was it because she was a girl, or had she really been acting like a vicious animal this entire time? Perhaps it was the implied notion that she carried the will of the Fire Lord? She mentally shrugged as the officer cleared his throat for the third time.

"Well, Captain, I was thinking that it might be possible that the princess is waiting us out on the rooftops. If we use the balloons, we have a good chance of spotting her from overhead."

Suki wanted to slap herself for not thinking of this on her own. "Good idea... gather some help and start heating the air in the balloons, I'll be inside getting a status report. Call me when they are ready for flight."

"Yes Ma'am."

Suki walked into the building and found a couple clerks seated around a large table, sorting through haphazardly piled scrolls and papers. Ember Island's governor, who also acted as commandant for the island's police, sat at the head of the table with steepled fingers. He was a plump man with a broad, bald forehead. What little hair he had was tied back into a wispy, limp topknot, and he seemed to be always sweating. Suki suppressed the urge to gag.

"Any news, Governor?" she asked politely.

"More of the same Miss, I'm a afraid," the fat governor replied with a wheeze.

Suki was sure a vein was throbbing on her forehead. "Could we be a bit more specific? What areas are clear? How many ships have been searched? Can we eliminate any-"

"Captain, I assure you, we're providing the best effort as is due an agent of the Fire Lord. Please be patient."

Suki was about to show the glutton just how _impatient_ she could be when she heard a shout from outside. Exiting through the front door, she spotted a girl in red with long, black hair sprinting down the street, occasionally spinning to blast fire behind her. Not far behind her was one of the Kyoshi Warriors and several armed Fire Nation officers giving chase. _Hiding so close, Azula?_

Wasting no time, Suki ran across the street and came parallel to the pursuers, and she recognized Ty Lee was the comrade leading the pack. The acrobat greeted her with a broad smile.

"Found her trying to blend in. Actually a tourist did. Someone called 'princess' and she took off," Ty Lee said in between breaths.

Suki frowned. "Seems she lost her edge... I'm kinda disappointed. Let's end this quickly."

Ty Lee nodded and leapt up to grab the overhang of the nearest building, using her momentum and a twist to flip herself onto the roof. Suki, who had fresh legs, sprinted as fast as she could after Azula. It wasn't hard to follow the path of overturned carts and barrels, and burning patches of ground.

Suki slid under a thin stream of fire as she rounded the next corner, quickly getting back on her feet to continue chase. Around the next corner, a melon detonated and splattered yellow goo across the street, but Suki managed to keep most of it off of her uniform by simply opening an adjacent door. She somersaulted over a burning heap of cabbages and a wailing merchant. Eventually Suki was close enough that she could throw her fans, but Zuko had requested she try to bring her in unharmed, and her fans were capable of inflicting nasty wounds.

Instead she kept her fans closed and threw them like a baton in an attempt to corral Azula into a narrow alley. The first throw failed to do so, mainly because the escapee had her back turned, but the second throw she waited until her target spun for another fire blast. Azula aborted her firebending move and ducked into the side alley. It wasn't a dead end until Ty Lee dropped down from an adjacent building and blocked the escape.

The raven-haired girl skidded to a halt as the two armored women began to close the gap. Suki kept herself coiled and ready to avoid a sudden attack, when suddenly the girl fell to her knees and began to sob.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" the girl said.

Ty Lee dropped her combat stance and tilted her head. Suki stopped advancing. That was most definitely _not_ Azula's voice. In fact, now that Suki was close enough to spot details, everything about her was distinctly not Azula. Although the hair, build, and skin tone were about right, this girl had pale green eyes and a face that lacked the sharp features of the escaped princess.

"Who are you and why were you running from us?" Suki demanded.

"My name is Reita. This crazy girl told to me to run from the police and make them chase me for as long as I could or she'd burn my house down with me and my family inside!"

Suki and Ty Lee exchanged frowns.

"Please!" the girl continued frantically. "She knew my address in Fire Fountain City and everything! She looked serious!"

"I bet she did," Ty Lee mumbled, frowning. The guardsmen previously with Ty Lee finally caught up. Suki clenched her fists.

"Reita, go with these guards and tell them everything you know. You aren't in trouble but we need you to cooperate, okay?" Suki said with as much self-control as she could muster. Reita nodded and shuffled down the alley as Ty Lee walked towards her leader.

"This was a distraction. Azula found a firebender that looked like her to play decoy... but what did she accomplish other than annoying us?" Suki said as she tried to bring her temper down.

"I know, right? It's not like there are boats for the nearby guards to abandon in the middle of the island," Ty Lee replied as she flipped onto her hands.

Suki's eyes widened. "We have to get back to the municipal building, right now!"

She had caught her second wind. Ty Lee was right behind her. At first the pink-loving girl tried asking what the hurry was, but after a minute at a dead run she ceased her queries, either to conserve her breath or because she already figured out what the urgency was. Suki prayed her hunch was wrong.

By the time they were back on the main street, Suki could already see one of the war balloons ascending out of the range of anything besides artillery or a skilled bender, and neither were immediately available. She detected just a hint of movement from the basket... _is she _waving_ at us?_ _Screw Zuko's request, I'm going to strangle the arrogance out of her!_

Rounding the corner to the small yard, she saw the other balloon was scorched, but intact and ready for flight. Azula, Suki guessed, had attempted to destroy the second balloon, but either lacked the time or the power to do so. The officer who had suggested scouting the rooftops with the aircraft stared at the ground in shame as a now red-faced Governor screamed at him. Another victim of Azula's fear tactics, no doubt.

"Ty Lee, get on board the remaining balloon and make sure there is plenty of fuel. No time to gather the rest of the girls, we've got to follow her."

* * *

Despite the fact that there was not a single blacksmith's hammer anywhere near her, Toph could still feel the rhythmic pounding echoing between her ears. Spending the day assisting various metalworkers had been a rewarding, but exhausting, experience. Her arms were sore and rubbery, her head felt like it had been pounded flat, and she could still taste metallic soot on her tongue. Relaxing on a stone bench she raised from the ground, Toph leaned back and smiled.

At first, the craftsmen had sent her on detail work. This had proven rather disastrous. Even with her utmost concentration, she just could not bend metal with gentle precision. Her efforts had ruined several decorative iron fences.

Fortunately, there was lots of scrap metal brought in that needed to be broken down into manageable pieces. This was something she was quite adept at doing. Using her unique ability, she tore through piles of salvage like a beaver-hog digging for truffles, leaving piles of fist-sized metal lumps that could be easily thrown into a forge and melted down. In a few long hours, she processed heaps that would have taken the local workers days to break with conventional tools.

Having run out of scrap to play with, she tried her hand at working metal the old-fashioned way. Toph was a strong girl, but not nearly built for handling a hammer for hours on end. Within ten minutes of pounding a sheet of metal intended to be cut into nails, she had switched to her left hand. Within five more minutes of that, she couldn't lift the hammer back up with either arm. She was about to lift a boulder with earthbending to use as a giant mallet before one of the workers politely insisted she take a break. It was during her break that she wandered into the forge where a firebender and earthbender were working together to make weapons for Taku's armory.

Their bending wasn't a big part of the process, of course. The firebender occasionally applied extra heat to an already hot blade. The earthbender would flick his wrist to add more coal to the forge. Toph used her senses to observe the sword-making process for the second time in her life, taking mental notes on any details she missed when Sokka had forged his meteorite sword. Eventually she decided to just walk up and start asking questions, which the earthbender ignored but the firebender happily obliged.

Towards the end of their shift, she commissioned the pair for a special project. They may not have been legendary artisans like Piandao, but they were good and made quality weapons. Their last blade of the day took a bit longer but she assured them they'd earn a bonus for the effort. She ran a cloth along the results of that labor, a jian lying across her lap, which the firebender told her would make the blade gleam like a fragment of the sun. So lost in polishing and the ache of a full day's work, she didn't even notice Katara had strolled up to her little makeshift alcove until the waterbender had plopped onto the bench next to her. Toph tensed but didn't have the energy to jump up in surprise.

"Hey Toph, it's almost time for dinner and you're still working? I didn't know you had it in you," she teased.

"Well, you know me, can't back down from a challenge," Toph said while stifling a yawn.

Katara chuckled. "I'm exhausted too. I've never moved so much water in one day, not even during the invasion or when I was building the wall around my village. How's your head?"

"Actually, pounding." When Katara's body thrummed with concern, Toph quickly amended, "but not from the hit I took in Tongue, I've just been around hammers all day."

"Oh, well I could still help with that," the southern girl suggested quietly.

"No thanks, Sweetness, wouldn't want you to pass out over healing a headache."

"Hm." Katara didn't seem to have the vim to argue the point. "You know, that sword looks a little familiar."

Toph paused her polishing. "Oh?"

"Yeah, looks like Sokka's. The metal isn't black, but it does look a bit darker than normal swords and it has the same shape. 'Course, it could just be that the sun is low."

"That's probably it," Toph said, belatedly realizing she said it a little too quickly. A short silence passed, but Toph could feel her friend was just reloading her verbal catapult.

"Where's your bracelet?" Katara finally asked.

Toph sighed. "In this sword. I kept a little though," she said, wiggling a black ring on her right pinky finger.

"It's for Sokka, isn't it?"

Toph sighed again. "Yes."

"I'm sure he'll like it."

More silence. Toph almost believed the conversation would end there, but in a few minutes Katara spoke up again.

"Toph, is everything alright?"

"Of course, Sugarqueen. What do you mean?" Toph replied, as evenly as she could manage.

Katara took a deep breath, which Toph took to mean she was finally getting to the real reason her friend had sat down here in the first place.

"Well, it's just that... the new clothes, the hair style, your obsession over finding my brother's lost things, getting caught off guard by other earthbenders... and you've just been generally moody-"

"Moody!"

"Please don't get mad at me!" Katara quickly placated, "I'm just worried about you, that's all. I just want you to know that you can talk to me about it."

"Nothing to talk about. Besides, I didn't give you grief whenever you changed your clothes or hair," Toph said with finality. She could feel Katara crossing her arms.

"Ok, well, the other things then," Katara said.

More silence. Toph resumed polishing the blade. The waterbender didn't budge.

"Ok, fine," Toph breathed out, "I feel... guilty... I guess."

Toph could sense the surprise in her companion. "Guilty... about what?"

"Couple reasons. I don't want to get into all of them, ok? I made this..." Toph tapped the sword, "because I felt guilty that Sokka lost one of his favorite things when he was protecting me. You should have heard the tone in his voice when he said 'Goodbye... Space Sword!'. I still intend to find the original some day."

"Toph," Katara put a hand over her wrist, "you know Sokka doesn't feel an ounce of regret. He'd sooner give a limb than let any of us come to harm. That's just who he is. Besides, things can be replaced... obviously. Friends can not."

Toph tensed. "Look, I'm glad we had this chat, but Sokka and Ren are walking this way. Don't tell him I said any of this." Toph quickly sheathed the blade in a simple leather scabbard and promptly buried it in the ground, just as Sokka and Ren strolled around the corner of the nearest building.

"Wow, you two look awful!" Sokka said with a wide grin.

"Now, now, Sokka. I think there is a certain beauty in-" Ren couldn't finish, a slab of ice had materialized over his mouth.

"Sokka, we're too tired for this. Did you and Ren find out anything about those earthbending marauders, or were Ren's supposed contacts just imaginary friends?" Katara asked.

Sokka dropped his grin. "Well, no. But Ren does know quite a few people around here, and we did pick up an interesting rumor about some traders trying to pawn off a bear. An ordinary bear-bear, in fact."

"Bosco?" Toph asked as Ren futilely tried to remove the frost from his face.

"I don't know any other plain old bears. It's our first real lead on the Earth King." Sokka stated.

"Well, that's good news. Can you find Aang and meet us in the town hall? Lon is treating us to dinner tonight. We'll catch up." Katara punctuated her words by removing the ice from Ren's mouth. Ren immediately began warming his face with cupped hands.

"Sure thing, sis." Sokka said, leading Ren with him.

"Your sister doesn't seem to like me very much." Ren said as they faded around the corner. Toph waited until she was sure they were gone before stomping the ground to eject the sword she had hidden there. Without a word she stood up and headed towards the town hall with Katara following behind. As they reached the front door, Toph turned towards her friend.

"Thanks, Katara. I probably don't say that often enough."

"You could stand to say it a bit more," Katara said with a laugh.

Toph responded with a punch to the shoulder.

* * *

Iroh dropped a few coins into the courier's hand, along with a bundle of sealed scrolls. The courier nodded appreciatively and hurried to his ostrich-horse as the old tea enthusiast closed the door to his shop. The night air was chilling, and Iroh longed for his warm bed, but he would not be able to enjoy such luxuries tonight.

He walked over to the counter where he had hastily spread out ink, paper, and calligraphy tools, alongside which Zuko's latest letter rested. His nephew did not have much in the way of good news: Azula escaped, Ozai was working with the missing councilmen, and combined with the number of missing soldiers, vehicles, weapons, and supplies... a large national conflict seemed just around the corner. Begrudgingly, Iroh knew, Zuko had requested the assistance of the Avatar and his friends. Iroh quickly copied the important parts of the message and sent it towards Aang in Taku, as well as send a response to Zuko indicating he would personally return to the Fire Nation and offer any assistance he could. The third scroll was a coded update for the White Lotus.

A knock at the door startled Iroh, causing him to spill ink over his right hand. _I'm certain I gave that courier payment and a rather generous tip, _Iroh thought as he walked back to the front door of the Jasmine Dragon. When he threw the door open, however, it was not the courier waiting for him, but three strangers: a woman with a broad smile flanked by two tall men. In the darkness, it was hard to see more detail than that.

Iroh groaned and summoned his best manners. "My humblest apologies, fair lady and gentlemen, but I'm afraid the Jasmine Dragon closed hours ago. If you would leave your names, I'll gladly reserve a table and a cup on the house for you and your friends for your next visit."

The woman spoke with deliberate slowness. "My name... is Joo Dee, and I'm afraid we are not here for tea, General Iroh of the Fire Nation."

Iroh's eyes widened, but before he could react, the two men in plain clothes launched earthen gloves to restrain and silence him. He managed only to drag an inky finger along the door frame before one of the Dai Li agents knocked him unconscious.


	13. Tracking Down

Chapter 13: Tracking Down

_Finally, transportation I'm familiar with operating._

Azula stretched her arms, shoulders, and back, trying to work out the stiffness that had crept into her muscles from hours sitting in the same position. War balloons were effective craft, but rather uncomfortable over long distances. However, if Zuko could fly one from Capital City all the way to the Western Air Temple, she could manage getting to the outer island chain, even under current circumstances. And at least the wind blew in her favor.

Floating eastward under the cover of darkness, Azula kept the scattered lights that dotted the island chain perhaps a half-mile south of her. The air was a bit chilling, but as long as she remained in tropical areas, the nights would stay balmy enough for her light clothing to keep her sufficiently warm. She leaned over to toss more coal into the on-board furnace, a supply that was rapidly running out. Both of these problems would be moot if her firebending wasn't so severely weakened and taxing to use, but she would deal with one problem at a time.

The fugitive princess allowed herself to relish a small amount of pride. Escaping Ember Island had seemed all but impossible once she realized that somehow those painted Earth Kingdom strumpets called the entire island's domestic forces into a search for her. Apparently Zuko gave them carte blanche authority in order to aid in her capture... or execution. She was not sure precisely what they intended.

It was for that reason that she had decided it would be best to make less of a scene. Burning entire buildings down with lots of panicking people inside was a surefire way to get one's name bumped up higher on the priority list. When she stopped and thought out a plan, she was pleased to discover her wit was still intact after all.

Finding a girl with similar features and some firebending skill wasn't terribly difficult, and her chatty friends gave enough information in order to get that puppet dancing. Plain old threats and lies worked on the young officer. Then it was just a matter of timing. Sneaking out of a dragnet without putting a single soul at any serious risk would hopefully send a message that she wasn't planning to start a killing spree.

Then again, she hadn't completely ruled that option out. Such barbarism was generally beneath her, even though she was aware her enemies often expected her to take every opportunity to draw blood. Lethal force was always a last resort... victory was so much more satisfying when your enemies lived to watch you bask in it. In hindsight, waving to the Kyoshi leader might not have been the wisest idea... but it was immensely satisfying. Killing people, in and of itself, would be of little value.

"Beneath you, huh? Yeah, murder is certainly not your style."

Azula started and glared in the direction of the voice. It was male, young, and the sarcastic intonations were rather familiar. But no one was in the basket with her. Surely she would have noticed a stowaway.

"Brilliant deduction. It's no wonder you organized the coup of Ba Sing Se."

Azula growled. She was certain these episodes were over. She went a whole day without any hallucinations, and was beginning to suspect some external force was torturing her for fun.

"You'd know all about torturing people for fun, wouldn't you?"

Now she recognized the voice. That Water Tribe buffoon... Sokka. Now she was certain some spirit was toying with her. Only a manifestation of pure evil would choose to trap her in a tiny space with the world's most irritating barbarian scoundrel.

"Oh, you've gone and hurt my feelings. Though I suppose you had worse things planned for me at one point, oh she-who-claims-killing-is-beneath-her."

Azula found the source of the voice was apparently a pair of metal shackles. Shackles, she realized, that the Kyoshi Warriors intended for her. Azula tried to stare down the restraints, but it was difficult to read a response from an inanimate object. "Okay, I'll bite, what is it that you're yammering about, peasant?"

"I'm glad you asked!"

Immediately, the shackles launched forward and bound her wrists to the edge of the basket. Her cold calm was lost the moment she tried to move her arms- she could not. The blood drained from her face as she watched the metal cuffs morph to stone. Her hallucinations, and she now knew them for what they were, had never been able to physically affect her before. _Is this real?_

As if it were a pane of perfect, clear glass, a space in front of her seemed to shatter in irregular but curved shapes... more jigsaw pieces. Each piece that fell revealed a patch of blue, white, or brown, until she realized that an image of Sokka had now materialized accompanying the voice. He was donned in the tribal armor she saw him wearing during the failed invasion, and he had his black sword drawn and held casually to the side.

"You've become so accustomed to lying, you don't even realize when you lie to yourself," Sokka said.

Azula tried to force the restraints again, to no avail.

"Allow me to disillusion you," Sokka paused, scratching his chin and smiling slightly, "no pun intended."

Sokka lunged with his blade and buried it halfway to the hilt into Azula's stomach. She managed a quiet whisper of a scream, saw the blood... her blood... dripping down the ebony metal and over Sokka's hands. She looked up at her killer, but instead saw the deck of her cruiser flip into existence, one puzzle piece at a time.

She was watching herself cast lightning at her brother. The lightning struck him dead.

_I wasn't planning to hit him then. _Pieces flipped.

She watched Ty Lee fall into a burning net. The net broke her fall, but she screamed in pain before the net collapsed and she was trampled under the rampaging animals below.

_Ty Lee didn't fall! I knew she wouldn't. _Pieces flipped.

She watched baby Tom Tom fall off the scaffolding in Omashu and into the streets far below.

_That didn't happen!_ Pieces flipped.

She shot her Uncle, straight through the heart.

_He's a traitor and a disgrace, it's a shame my aim was off._ Pieces flipped.

She struck the Avatar with lightning. Then she did the same to the waterbender.

_That's war, and I don't smile like that!_ Pieces flipped.

She suggested every Earth Kingdom citizen should burn in agony at a war meeting.

_I said... burn their hope and land..._ Pieces flipped.

She was standing in the underground bunker, with Sokka charging her, tears flowing from his eyes. A knife dropped into her hand.

_Come and get it._

_ Come and get it._

_ Come and let me gut you._

The earthbending runt was too slow. She plunged the dagger into Sokka's chest and twisted it... once, twice, three times. The warrior fell, and Azula licked the blood from the blade as Toph began screaming and the Avatar stood in still shock.

_Enough! ENOUGH!_ _That's not me! I desire victory, prestige, even adulation. I'm not some common murderer, I'm a soldier of the royal house!_

"A dubious distinction."

_ What about the Kyoshi rabble? I didn't torture them!_

"Not physically, I suppose."

_ What about the coup in Ba Sing Se? No death! See! I only aim to kill when that is the best strategic option._

"Unless it's your brother, then it's personal."

_ Of course that's personal! I never even managed to take a life anyway! Stop showing me these lies! I'm not a blood-crazed savage!_

"Oh ok, you're not a killer because you only _attempted_ to do it. You should go with that defense at your trial. If your brother graces you with one, that is."

Azula's eyes flicked open. She was back in the war balloon. Her arms were free. She immediately reached for her abdomen but found no wetness and no trace of a wound. She spotted the metal shackles in the corner of the basket and promptly tossed them into the ocean below. Now standing, she noticed the aircraft had lost some altitude and the night was beginning to yield to dawn.

"Just a dream..." she said aloud, "just a dream."

Shaking the stiffness out of her limbs, Azula threw the last of her coal into the furnace and chased it with a small fire blast for good measure. Her craft had drifted much closer to the island chain, which was for the best as she intended to land for supplies anyway. She dug a map out of the Kyoshi warrior equipment and tried to get her bearings in the limited light.

_The river village, Jang Hui._ Her finger traced along the map. Jang Hui was the closest settlement that she deemed small enough and therefore the least risky. She'd land well outside the village, walk to town, pawn off the Kyoshi gear she didn't need (_damn, why did I throw those cuffs into the ocean!)_, buy fuel and provisions, and then...

She sighed.

Azula finally accepted what was lingering in the back of her mind for almost a day now. She would have to leave the Fire Nation. It would be far easier for her to hide from her pursuers in the Earth Kingdom; she was fairly certain they didn't have total authority to commandeer resources from the Earth King too. At least not yet. And it would take time for Zuko to get Earth Kingdom officials involved and cooperative.

What to do with that time, she didn't know, except train until her firebending was back up to par. Maybe she could at least make her pursuers believe that capturing her is more dangerous than leaving her alone. Begrudgingly, she realized her best option to remain undetected while regaining her lost abilities would be to live off the land. To live as a peasant, or more specifically a nomadic peasant. The very notion made her ill. But Azula was, if nothing else, pragmatic.

Jang Hui turned out to be a bit more lively than Azula would have expected. It seemed that the fishing trade was going quite well, and the townsfolk were generally happy. Newly constructed buildings (which were essentially houseboats) and extensions to the wooden docks almost completely encircled the village. Everything was painted in white and bright reds. Yellow crescent moons were stamped around on a few surfaces, mostly on doors. The décor struck the princess as rather unusual, but then again it was unusual for a town to be floating in the middle of a river as well.

At least it wasn't too difficult to trade the things she didn't want for the supplies she needed, even though one of the merchants seemed to have a different name depending on what hat he decided to wear.

It was only on her way back to the edge of town so Dock or Shu or whatever his name was could ferry her back to shore that she began to realize her growing sense of deja vu was borne of more than just her diligent study of Fire Nation geography. She didn't merely read about this place... she had seen it in that damned play. Jang Hui was supposedly home to a clan of superstitious spirit worshipers, who had the gall to pray to a _water_ spirit no less. Now the town's design was obvious, especially the shameless use of the crescent moon all over town. How this place managed to escape the notice of the Cultural Ministry's inquisitors all these years was baffling.

Azula found her attention drawn to a shop owner meticulously rearranging the wares she had on display in the stall nearest the ferry docks. As she approached, she noticed the owner was a woman perhaps in her early thirties, but Azula's attention was quickly stolen by some of the items staring at her from the front counter.

They were wooden carvings, delicate and detailed. Many were obviously the mythological Painted Lady this town was obsessed with, but a few were something else entirely. Someone else. Someone very familiar.

"Who is that?" Azula barked before she could control herself, pointing at one of the figures.

"Oh! Hello Miss!" The woman jumped in surprise. "She would be the Painted Lady, of course. Do you know the legend?"

Azula waved her hand. "No, the other one."

"Oh, she is the gracious waterbender, Katara of the Southern Tribe."

The princess turned her back on the owner for a moment and breathed deeply as she fought to remain calm. The urge to burn the entire shop down, perhaps the entire town, was almost overwhelming. But no, that wouldn't be wise, she had just ditched the Kyoshi Warriors and intended to keep them far away for as long as possible.

"Is everything alright, Miss?" the owner asked.

Azula turned. "Fine. Might I ask why you have carvings of a peasant girl from the Water Tribe on display next to an ancient spirit? Or why a proud village of the Fire Nation would have either such items for sale?

"Oh, well, the story is really quite enchanting, and I have all morning if-"

"The short version," Azula interrupted.

"Right." The woman's smile drooped to a frown. "Lady Katara saved our village from certain destruction. Our river was toxic, our people were sick and starving, and it was all thanks to the big hideous factory upstream and the soldiers who supposedly exist to protect us. If she had not intervened, this village would have slowly shriveled up and died, along with its inhabitants. Along with my son. Most of us believe the Painted Lady sent Katara as an envoy of her will."

Azula stared at the woman for a long moment, trying to read a trace of deception from her expression, but finding nothing.

"How much?" Azula finally said, pointing to a carving of Katara.

The woman's smile returned. "Six copper pieces."

Azula brought out the coins from her limited funds and placed them on the table. She pocketed the statuette and made for the ferry.

_They're peasants. They serve the governors and the army, who in turn serve the nobility and the war council, who in turn serve the Fire Lord and the royal family. To fail their duty is nothing short of treason. Besides, I'm certain that whatever the factory was doing here was necessary and not nearly as barbaric as that woman made it seem. The river looks pristine to me, the town is prosperous. Maybe I should burn it down as punishment for their arrogance. It is the natural order of things... those born to rule and those born to be ruled. It is the way of the Fire Nation and the Path to Glory._

_ Yet... these people did not serve. They rebelled at the first opportunity. Their allegiance was swayed by a single act of charity by a single person. Perhaps mother is right... perhaps fear is an ineffective means of control. False kindness is far more powerful._

_ But was the water witch being false? Surely the villagers knew she and the Avatar planned to overthrow their government... to invade their homeland. Surely the witch knew this village was the enemy. It doesn't make any sense!_

_ By all rights, they should have turned on her the moment she revealed herself as a waterbender! She takes a huge risk and helps the people of the enemy, reveals herself- a strategically useless move and one likely to get her killed- and yet I cannot deny that her side was the victor in the end. And now she is literally being idolized. Was it just blind luck?_

_ No, I don't believe in luck, not any more. Not since luck abandoned me like everyone else has. I'll make my own way, play by my own rules. Then they'll understand. Then they'll know._

Azula hardly realized, in the vortex of her own thoughts, that she was already off the ferry, down the shore-side path, and had prepped and loaded the war balloon for takeoff. She shoved fresh coal into the furnace and set it alight. She brought the figurine out of her pocket and, with a cold stare, set it on fire in her hands and tossed it into the furnace as well. Had she not been so focused on watching her nemesis burn, she might have noticed the glare that seemed to radiate from a tiny cloud to the west. Had she not been so lost in her own thoughts, she might have noticed that her bearing for the western reaches of the Earth Kingdom was taking her straight into swollen, dark skies.

* * *

"Hey buddy! Did you sleep well?"

Appa returned the monk's query with a soft moo and a sopping tongue, nearly flipping Aang end over end. The Avatar laughed and brought his fists together at the waist, pushing the slime off his body with a sphere of air.. It seemed his flying companion was content and in good spirits, and Aang couldn't help but feel the same way.

He woke up this morning with a sense of calm he hadn't experienced since defeating Ozai. Taku seemed to be a legitimate and positive cooperative project. The people here, for the most part, got along rather well and shone as an example that peace _was_ possible. Dinner last night with Overseer Lon, Foreman Bo, and several other locals made for a pleasant evening, although he had to admit that some of the foreman's jokes at the overseer's expense seemed unduly harsh. Yet Lon returned the shots with good humor (for him, anyway, the man seemed incapable of smiling) and nothing escalated beyond that.

Feeling confident that Taku wasn't a barrel of blasting jelly with a lit fuse, Aang set his sights on keeping it that way. That meant tracking down those earthbending raiders, the Fire Nation renegades, and the Earth King. And after that, hopefully a long vacation. _A nice, long break would be perfect. Maybe enjoy the remainder of autumn in one of the temples, with-_

"Good morning, Aang," Katara said as she slipped her hand into his. He noted, somewhat absently, that he somehow knew she had approached, without consciously hearing or seeing her, or even catching her lightly perfumed scent. Odd, but comforting.

"Good morning, Katara," Aang replied with a smile, "I was just getting Appa up. Is everyone ready to go?"

"Mostly. Ren is... waiting outside, and Toph needed a moment to give Sokka his new toy." Katara rolled her eyes with a grin. Aang just tilted his head. "You'll see."

Casting the stable doors open with a gust of air, Aang observed Sokka swinging a grayish but lustrous sword around, at first in wild, childlike strokes but he quickly settled into familiar, disciplined forms. Toph stood a few paces aside, arms crossed and bangs obscuring her face, but Aang spotted her lips turned in a smile. Their new companion seemed nowhere to be found, until one of the large stable doors behind him slowly swung closed.

"Mmmph."

Aang turned around with Katara and couldn't help but laugh. Ren was bound to the door in ice from toe to just below the nose, upside-down, and wore an expression that was part annoyance and part resignation.

"Katara," Aang said in a half-scolding tone.

"What?" Katara simply feigned innocence.

"Never mind," he replied with a smile.

Aang splayed out his fingers and the ice shifted to water, dropping Ren to his hands and knees. Ren quickly got to his feet and tried to stand with some dignity, and Aang opted to draw the water from his clothing as well. There was no need for him to be even remotely hostile towards the colonial youth; Katara had that completely covered for the both of them.

"Well, if Ren is finished chilling out, why don't we get to tracking that trading caravan down?" Toph said as she walked up to climb Appa.

"Toph, this sword is excellently balanced," Sokka said, following the earthbender, "it's like a perfect replica of Space Sword. I think I'll call it the Chitaku Chopper! No wait, that's stupid. Hey, where's your bracelet? Did I say 'thank you' yet?"

"Yes. Just get in the saddle, you idiot." Toph called from atop the bison.

Aang gave the great beast the command to take off, while Ren relayed all the information he and Sokka had gathered on the caravan's last known location and heading. They flew relatively low to the ground, a luxury of sorts since the end of the war, but Aang felt his spine tingling as he half-expected a fireball to erupt from below at any moment, or perhaps a large boulder was just as likely. Aang sighed. Already the serenity he was enjoying this morning was seeping away from him. Hidden conflict was in some ways worse than open war; at least back then he knew who the enemy was.

"Avatar Aang, I think I see the caravan on the path a little bit southeast of us," Ren called out.

Aang peered in the direction Ren pointed. "I see it. And please, just call me Aang."

He guided Appa into a low pass over the line of wagons and trailers, most of which were pulled by ostrich-horses but a few were sliding along on slabs of stone. A large cage on one of the trailers in the middle of the line housed a very bored and familiar bear; Aang was certain it was Bosco. He continued the low flight until he overtook the carriage in front and landed Appa directly in their path. Aang and his friends quickly dismounted.

"Oh yeah, time to break some-"

"Toph," Aang said, cutting her off, "let's try diplomacy first. These people just look like ordinary traders to me."

"Oh, fine." Toph crossed her arms and blew the fringe of her hair away from her face.

A short, squirrelly man emerged from the lead carriage, his body language hinting at extreme annoyance. Two large men appeared after him, flanking on either side as the merchant leader approached the group. Any animosity in the man was gone by the time he was close enough to hold a conversation, however. He was smiling and demure, his simple green tunic in stark contrast with his excessive amount of jewelry.

"By the spirits, the Avatar! I am honored that you came all this way to browse my wares! Humble merchant Shugo, at your service." The tiny man bowed deeply.

Aang exchanged some looks with his friends and decided to play along. "Hello, Shugo. I understand you have some rare and unusual items in your possession. We were in the area and decided we couldn't miss the opportunity to see your stores. I hope it's no inconvenience."

"Not at all! Though with everything packed away as it is, young Avatar, it may be best if you tell me what kind of things you're looking for," Shugo replied.

"Well... I'll get straight to the point then. I have... um... an interest in rare species, and I heard you have a bear."

Aang couldn't read Shugo's expression. Relief? Confusion? Suspicion? All three and more? "In fact, I do. This way."

Bosco did not look happy to be in a cage. The bear was restrained and his eyes were listless. Aang felt a pang of anger at seeing the peaceful and friendly creature being carted around like some antique.

"Fascinating, fascinating!" Ren suddenly exclaimed. "Wherever did you acquire such an unusual beast?"

"Found him myself a couple weeks ago while out hunting with my men. A strong animal, to be certain," Shugo replied.

Ren tapped at his jaw. "A few weeks you say? It's a small wonder you have not found a buyer yet. Is there something wrong with him?"

Aang looked at Ren with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance. He didn't know what the point of this line of questioning was, but he had to assume Ren was after something, as his tone of voice was partly his typical charm and yet also uncompromisingly businesslike. It was a tone he'd heard before.

"No, no. Nothing wrong with him, I assure you," Shugo said, "it's just that I haven't found someone with a use for a bear."

"You're lying," Toph said, stepping forward and raising an accusing finger towards the merchant. The merchant scowled and Ren brought his palm to his face, but Aang and the rest of his friends just waited.

"Begging your pardon, miss, but on what grounds do you accuse me of such a thing?" Shugo asked.

"The grounds we're standing on," Toph said with a chuckle at her own joke.

"Hah! Good one, Toph!" Sokka said.

"You didn't find the bear in the woods and something is wrong with him, at least in your eyes. So spill it. It's not a good idea to make the Avatar angry, you know," Toph finished.

"Toph, don't make people afraid of Aang," Katara chastised in a whisper.

Shugo looked nervously to the Avatar and his companions. Toph cracked her knuckles and grinned. His guards looked poised but hesitant. Finally the tiny man let out a strange sort of gagging sound, like someone grabbed his throat in the middle of saying 'no', and his shoulders sagged.

"Okay, okay. No need for any unpleasantness. I bought the bear from some pirates in a fishing town at the mouth of the river a few days ago. Of course, they called themselves 'high-risk traders', but I knew better. I thought I could resell the bear as a work animal in Chitaku at a profit, but the creature is stubborn and lazy. I was hoping someone in Makapu would want him as a pet."

Aang exchanged a look with Katara and Sokka. "Did the captain have an iguana-parrot by any chance?"

Shugo scratched his head. "Well, yes. I believe he did."

"You think they're still at that town?"

"Quite likely."

"Sokka, hand me the map." Aang turned to the merchant again. "Shugo, please mark the town on it, and we'll buy the bear from you at whatever amount you paid for it."

* * *

She was certain he was doing this out of spite. Spite, or it was some weak attempt at a practical joke, but everyone knew he didn't have a funny bone in his body. It at first sounded romantic and spontaneous, and she would have assumed Ty Lee was involved were she not away. Instead the invitation turned out to be a devious trap the likes of which his sister might have constructed. Why did Zuko arrange for her _and her family_ to have lunch out on a palace balcony today? Mai tried, not for the first time since they sat down, to level a withering glare at her boyfriend, but he returned only a smile. _Jerk. That's the last time I ask to spend more time together._

Though if she were honest with herself, the ask was more like a demand.

They sat around a small, circular table. Although the climate of the Capital was at least warm all year round, autumn sometimes brought in strong winds and today was just such a day, complete with an overcast sky. As a result, her mother's hair was becoming more and more disorderly by the minute. It would have been funny were she not acutely aware that the wind was doing precisely the same thing to her own hair. Thankfully everything they were eating was heavy enough not to be carried away. She tried to focus on the food and not the conversation going on around her. _Jerk._

Tom-tom sat in a high chair, amazingly not throwing his food around and finding the wind more entertaining than scary. Normally, her parents would never even think about bringing an infant to the palace, especially to meet the Fire Lord, so Zuko must have insisted on that as well. _Jerk._

Her father had been nervous and skeptical at first, but Zuko was quick to get him to relax. Understandable, really. His governorship was based on the regime of Ozai, and from a political perspective (that perspective being the only one her father understood, most of the time) he would find no reason to think Zuko invited them over for anything good. Of course, Mai had neglected to mention to either of her parents that she was currently involved with the new Fire Lord. She wanted to keep it that way. Forever, if possible. Too late now.

_ Jerk._

"I think it's wonderful, Lord Zuko," her mother said, "I had my suspicions, but Mai never discusses these things with me. We're honored and flattered that you're courting our daughter."

_For now._

"I do hope you understand Mai's surly demeanor isn't directed towards you..."

_The hell it isn't._

"...but she's always been like that," her mother finished.

_Gee, thanks, Mom._  
"Mai just expresses herself... differently. But I've always been proud of her and she's grown into a fine young woman," her father added.

_As diplomatic as ever, Dad._

Zuko just laughed. Mai was running out of energy to glare with. _Why didn't you invite my Uncle too, Zuko? We could all share prison stories!_

"Governor, I'm well aware of Mai's qualities and I love her for all of them," Zuko said, and turned to her mother, "even her, ah, demeanor, as you put it."

Mai froze. _Love? He's never used the word out loud before. I mean, we both know, but... oh no. No. He's not doing this now. _She stared in horror as Zuko reached into his sleeve. _Don't you dare, Zuko! Oh no, no no no no no. My parents will... no! I swear I will leap right off this-_

Something clattered loudly onto the stone tiles just behind where Zuko was seated. For all he appeared relaxed, Zuko reacted so quickly that Mai was certain he was coiled like a spring the whole time. He spun out of his chair and unto his feet, immediately erecting a wall of fire between the source of the noise and the guests at the table. In the process, something fell out of his sleeve, but she was too bewildered by the sudden heat to pay much attention to it.

After a few seconds, Zuko carefully lowered the barrier he had generated.

"What was that about?" Mai asked, speaking for the first time since they had sat down.

Zuko turned slowly and blanched, quickly bending down and snatching whatever _it_ was that fell from his sleeve and returning it to concealment. "I thought it was a bomb. Is everyone okay?"

Her father coughed. "Quite alright, Lord Zuko. And much warmer now, to boot." He smiled weakly. Tom-Tom gurgled happily and her mother let out a long breath.

"So, what was it then?" Mai asked, forgetting she was supposed to be furious.

Zuko examined and picked up the object that had seemingly been dropped from overhead. It appeared to be a thick cylinder of bamboo, about a foot long, both ends bound in leather. Mai could certainly understand why Zuko would think it was an explosive of some kind.

"There's writing on the side: 'Prince Zuko's Eyes Only'."

"Seems whoever dropped this off is a little out of date," Mai said.

"Yeah..." Zuko trailed off, staring at the roof a several yards away, and then at the gray clouds far overhead. Turning his attention back to the tube, he began to twist one of the leather caps off.

"Lord Zuko, don't touch that!" shouted an earnest voice. Mai turned to see Inuzo sprinting towards them from the entrance to the balcony, Jee not far behind. "It could be poison!"

"I don't think anyone would risk delivering a poison in such an unreliable manner," Jee said.

"We should destroy it, to be safe!" Inuzo said.

Jee sighed. "Lord Zuko, please allow me to open it, just in case." Zuko nodded and handed him the tube. Jee stepped back a few paces and twisted the leather off one end, and shook a scroll out of the tube. "A message, then. While I'm displeased that someone felt the need to contact you outside the normal channels, it does say for your eyes only."

Inuzo frowned. "Captain, with all due respect, we should be much more vigilant about this. What if the ink on the scroll-"

"Return to your post, Guardsman," Jee said, in a tone that brooked no argument. Inuzo bowed and marched away. Zuko had already unrolled the scroll and Mai could see his eyes scan back and forth, his face creasing with agitation. Finally, he rolled the scroll back up.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this lunch short, I apologize," Zuko said. "Jee, please arrange an escort to see Mai's family home safely, and meet me in my study in ten minutes."

"Yes, Lord Zuko."

Zuko held out an arm to Mai as he turned to leave, which she swatted away as she moved to follow him. Once they were moving through the interior halls, Mai's patience was already gone.

"What was on the scroll, Zuko?"

"Information, from old... friends. Likely the position of my father's forces, if it turns out to be true. We finally have a chance to act instead of waiting around."

"Hmm. Good."

They walked on in silence for a few minutes.

"That's all you have to say?" Zuko finally asked.

"Sorry, I'm just thinking about that thing in your pocket right now, and how I'll never forgive you if try doing anything with it around my family again."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Mai rolled her eyes and hooked her arm into his. _Jerk._

* * *

The group was now approaching their target, on foot, while attempting to look like casual shoppers in the dockside marketplace. Toph was certain it wouldn't fool anyone applying even an ounce of scrutiny, but so far no one nearby had a sudden rise in heart rate or even tension in their step. Aang wore a simple cloak over his robes with the hood over his head in order to avoid drawing attention to himself. Sokka had surmised, a bit bitterly, that the rest of them would probably not be recognized, at least not immediately. Zuko and Aang got the lion's share of the glory after the war, but that was fine with Toph because they also got the lion's share of the boring meeting invitations, which is to say, all of them.

"Yup, it's them alright," Sokka said in aside as he pretended to be interested in a leather bracer, which under other circumstances he probably would have been.

"Who's 'them'?" Ren asked.

"Pirates. Aang, Katara, and myself had a run-in with them last winter. Probably won't be happy to see us."

"Oh?"

"Katara stole a waterbending scroll from them," Sokka said with a small amount of disdain.

That got Toph's attention. "Katara stole..._ from pirates?!"_

"Shhh! Not so loud! Don't you remember that from the play?" Katara hissed.

"You left that detail out when describing the scene to me," Toph said, smiling. "That's so cool!"

"No, it's not, we almost got blown up and cut to pieces," Sokka deadpanned.

"Wait a second... how come it's okay to steal from pirates but not okay to cheat a con artist, Katara?" Toph asked with a devilish grin.

"Can we talk about this later?" Katara pleaded.

"Guys, we need to be careful about this," Aang said, "if these pirates have information on the Earth King, or have him captive even, they won't give either up without a fight. I'd like to avoid that."

"Leave that to me and Slick, then," Toph said, changing gears, "we don't have history with them and he reeks of money." She finished with a thumb in Ren's general direction.

"Not like your family is for want of wealth, Miss Bei Fong," Ren said, "and it would have been nice to have known you possess lie detecting powers before; I would have used a completely different approach on the caravan merchant."

"Yeah, yeah, cram it, Jabbermouth. Aang, wait for my signal, we'll be back."

Toph grabbed Ren by the arm and practically dragged him towards the docked ship. After a few steps he managed to regain his balance and drop into a relaxed, imperious swagger, and hooked her arm with his.

She found it amusing when Ren put this act on. He had all the arrogance of actual nobility on the surface, so much so that he _had_ to have been exposed to the upper-class world many times, but underneath he treated it as a big joke. _Katara really ought to lighten up; she takes him more seriously than he takes himself._

"So, you've met the King right? Anything you can tell me about him?" Ren asked.

Toph shrugged. "I dunno. Tallish, skinny. Likes animals a lot. Intelligent, but naïve. I'm told he wore spectacles."

"Spectacles... perfect," Ren said. "Showtime."

Right on cue, a man approached them from the pirate ship, interrupting his own silly rhyme he was shouting at passers-by to get their attention. Toph could immediately sense he had more objects hidden on his person than Mai had knives, and they were probably all weapons of some kind. "Good day young Sir and Miss! Might I interest you in some rare curios?"

"Well, I must say, this market has been an utter disappointment so far, wouldn't you say, Darling?" Toph prompted.

"Completely so. I was told one could find _anything_ here, for the right price. But no one seems to have what we're looking for," Ren said with dismay.

Toph could practically feel the greed oozing out of this barker. _Oh, this is going to be easy._

"What, might I ask, are you looking for? We have all sorts of things..."

"Oh, it's not some trinket or bauble we're looking for," Toph said with a huff.

"Nothing so mundane. You see, we have been following a very credible rumor about a man with spectacles."

_Immediate reaction. Jackpot._

"Oh?" the barker queried, the picture of idle curiosity.

"We heard this man makes these spectacles, and infuses them with special crystals blessed by the Far Seeing spirit, Wenji. It is my hope they'll allow my love to gaze upon the world as I do."

_A little sappy, but it's working._ Toph did her best to appear simultaneously cute and pathetic and reached for Ren's hand.

"It is said he occasionally sells a pair to merchants, but only one at a time, and he was last seen around the western provinces," Ren continued, "but no luck here, it seems."

Toph was impressed. Ren was a very capable liar. Almost as good as Azula, even, but she could still actually tell he _was_ lying; there was that faint twinge of excitement with every bit that he fabricated. Azula, on the other hand, seemed to lie so effectively she convinced her own body. Now that was creepy.

"Don't be so hasty! I recall just such an object came into our stock just last week. Please come inside and I will check the storage rooms. We have so much merchandise, sometimes it's hard to keep track of it all, but I'm certain our, ah, warehouse manager would have kept such a treasure safely handled!"

On the way up the ramp, Toph held both arms out, and with a flick of her wrist, drew a fistful of sand up both sleeves of her tunic from underneath the docks. The barker didn't seem to notice. Then as soon as they were on board the ship-turned-shop, Toph remembered she hated boats. Sure, this was a large boat, and moored, so it wasn't really rocking around, but for some reason she felt queasy anyway. Plus, this boat was made mostly of wood, which also essentially made her truly blind. Suddenly the submarines seemed more inviting by comparison.

Still, if she really focused, it was an exceptionally dirty ship. There was a coating of sand and gravel that resonated with her unique sense just enough to make out vague blobs of movement and the rough position of inanimate objects, and some of those objects were also made of stone.

"Wait right here please, and feel free to browse, I will talk with the man downstairs."

"The warehouse manager?" Ren asked.

"Ah, yes! Him."

Toph and Ren pretended to look around at various knick-knacks while another pirate in the shop eyed them closely. They kept close, whispering and pointing at various objects, but their conversation was completely apart the merchandise.

"What do you think?" Ren asked quietly.

"Lanky was lying, no doubt about it. I'm trying to track him through the ship, but it's really vague. He might be in a closet, a brig, or a storage room, but he's definitely with another person, and the other person is definitely not happy... and not standing."

"Hmm."

"Nice call with the 'magic glasses' bit, by the way." Toph whispered with a light jab to his arm.

"Thanks. Hope you weren't offended. So what do we do?"

"Not much offends me, Slick. As to what we do... well, just stay close to me and be ready to shut your eyes."

The barker returned, and Toph could tell he was carrying something delicate.

"Are these what you're looking for?" He held them out to the young pair.

Toph turned her head quizzically, just slightly in the wrong direction.

"May she try them? We have to verify such a thing exists, of course. Then you can name your price... I'd pay my whole estate if I had to." Ren pretended to scold himself for letting too much slip. The barker shifted.

"Well, let's give them a try!" He finally said.

He gently placed the spectacles in Toph's hands. She raised them to her eyes, with deliberate slowness, and then, struck suddenly with a plague of clumsiness, dropped them down her shirt.

"Oops."

Then she flung the sand out of her sleeves and filled the room with a stinging cloud of salts. The two pirates yelped in surprise, and Toph quickly grabbed Ren's hand.

"This way!"

She dashed to the door that lead further into the ship, grabbing a stone statue on the way, and swung the door open. They had to act quickly, for the sand would not blind the pirates for very long, and the others on board must have heard the commotion. A few quick turns and a short set of stairs later, Toph smashed a door open with the stone statue. Inside was definitely a man, definitely restrained, and definitely upset. She heard Ren move forward and suddenly a familiar voice spoke out.

"Toph, is that you?"

"Hi, Kuei. Long time no see," Toph said, as Ren worked on the restraints.

"Oh thank the heavens! Thank you! They thought I was worth some kind of ransom, guess even in rags I don't fool anyone, but if they found out I was the-"

"We'll have time for stories later!" Toph took the statue in her hands, broke it into pieces, and molded it into a roughly square plate. Then, with a low stance and a running start, she drove it through the wooden wall of the makeshift prison and blasted an escape route straight into open air. Ren whistled admiringly.

"How far is the jump, and onto what?" Toph asked, turning to Ren.

"About ten feet, into water. Let's go."

"Damn it." Toph felt a chill go up her spine.

"What?"

"I... can't swim."

"Oh. Well, I'll go first. Just jump, and I'll bring you to land, okay?"

"...okay."

"I thought I told you never to let kids on board this ship AGAIN!" bellowed a rather angry voice from down the hall.

"You first, your Highness." Ren said to the king. Kuei wasted no time diving through the window. Ren followed a moment after, and Toph listened for the splash before jumping out and holding her breath.

Those couple seconds in the air were agony. She was completely blind, and knew she was going straight into another medium of complete blindness. She had only Ren to see her safely to shore, although hopefully the others had seen the sand cloud escaping from the boat or the hole punched in the side of it. She couldn't help emitting a short scream.

Contact. The old fear. And damn was it cold.

But in moments an arm wrapped around her, keeping her head above water. And she was moving aside.

"If anyone asks, that was one of the pirates screaming. Or Kuei."

"You got it," Ren said with a laugh.

As soon as they touched land, Toph scrambled up a short slope and onto the stone streets of the marketplace, stomping the whole way to scan the situation. Pirates were coming her way. Lots of them. Making the safe assumption, she raised a wall to shield herself and her companions, and was immediately rewarded with the knowledge that several pointy objects embedded themselves into the earth. Something twanged next to her, followed by a pirate collapsing in a pained yelp. Ren must have fired his little crossbow.

Reaching her senses outwards, she could tell that Katara and Sokka were attacking the pirates from the rear. Sokka was clearly making good use of his new sword, parrying away any attacks that came near him, and actually destroying the inferior swords that he crossed with more often than not. Katara was busy slapping down various projectiles with tendrils of water, and then launching men into the water or freezing them solid. With the ocean only steps away, she was just fine.

Aang, oddly, was not moving at all. In fact he was just standing, stone still, right where she had left him earlier. He didn't seem injured in any way, but he was just... not home. _Nice time for weird Avatar stuff, Twinkle-toes._

Some of the pirates decided to rush her wall. She turned her defense into a weapon and knocked several stones forward in a wide spread, knocking down half the attackers coming at her, but the more agile ones spun through or deflected the assault. Ren managed to fire off one more bolt, this one going wide apparently, and drew his sword.

Kuei was, of course, panicking and keeping his distance. Which was smart of him. He was no fighter, even though Toph was certain he could earthbend on some fundamental level. She gave him another wall to hide behind.

Ren, to her surprise, was hardly more together than Kuei at this point. His collectedness was completely gone, replaced by a shaky stance and form, and coming blade to blade with one opponent, Toph immediately realized that he was _not_ good with that thin sword at all. Ren barely kept himself from getting skewered, constantly backpedaling, barely maintaining his footing, and always on the defensive. His heart was racing like a hummingbird-mouse.

She shifted a pillar to knock his opponent away. Followed by more and more, each sending a pirate careening into a building, skipping across the street, or if they were lucky, into the water. Katara and Sokka had cornered a very irate Captain, who was now swearing at them for having the audacity to steal from his ship twice, and he didn't care if they had blown up fleets of airships or went toe-to-toe with the Fire Princess.

But he surrendered anyway. The fight was over. And now, finally, Aang seemed able to move again. They all gathered in a circle.

"What the hell was that, Aang?! You decide to take a pass on this fight while the rest of us dodged arrows, knives, and being pecked to death by a flying lizard?" Sokka exclaimed.

"Guys, lay off him, I think he was in some Avatar trance thingy," Toph quickly put in, finding it odd that she was playing peacekeeper.

"The important thing is, we found the Earth King. The local authorities can put these pirates away," Katara said, still simmering with anger, though Toph couldn't tell what she was still mad about.

Ren was utterly silent. He held his sword out to the side, idly dragging it around on the ground.

"I'm sorry guys. Something... was pulling me. Something familiar. Or someone. I think I saw Azula, and she was close, but then suddenly far away. But it was coming from the southwest. I think."

"Aang, that couldn't have been timed any worse... but I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"So, what do we do?" Katara asked, still brimming with barely checked fury.

"Well, we have to get the King back home, obviously," Sokka said.

"What about Aang's vision? What it means Azula escaped or something?" Katara pressed on.

Sokka sighed. "Okay, I know I'm usually the skeptic here but I've learned that weirdness plus Aang equals trouble. I think we have to split up."

Toph could sense everyone's discomfort around that. Splitting up during a conflict didn't go so well the last time.

"I know people we can trust around here, if you still want my help with the King," Ren said, meekly.

"That sounds good. Ren, Toph, and I will get the Earth King back to Ba Sing Se, on foot if we have to. Aang and Katara take Appa and get to the Fire Nation. We'll meet up again as soon as we can."

"Hopefully Aang's vision isn't as bad as it sounds," Toph said.

"Which, of course, means that it's going to be much worse," Sokka replied.


	14. Cracking Up

Chapter 14: Cracking Up

It was like a tiny animal was crawling up and down her back, or tugging on her eyelids, or tickling her upper lip. And it was absolutely annoying.

She tried to quell the persistent, involuntary twitches and shivers playing havoc with her body. She tried to enjoy the warmth and comfort provided by Aang's arm around her shoulders. But the looming threat of the unknown continuously wheedled at her nerves. Under other circumstances, this trip could have been considered romantic: it was just her and Aang, chasing after the setting sun to the west, huddling close to ward off the chill of approaching night as Appa swam through the heavens. But the fear that they were flying into some kind of disaster was all she could think about.

Hours ago, she thought, was already a narrowly avoided disaster. First, her friend decided to assault a ship full of armed pirates even when Aang specifically asked her to avoid violence. Sure, Toph had some justification for acting quickly, but Katara was certain her friend came up with this reasoning _after_ she decided to flood the ship with sand and blast her way out the side of its hull.

Aang's vision, or the timing thereof, was worse still. If he had been entranced during the fight, instead of just before it, he might have been killed. To think, the Avatar would be felled by a common thug with a cheap blade after surviving the likes of Azula or a massively empowered Ozai. It made her furious, but she didn't know who or what to get angry at. It wasn't Aang's fault, and she had no idea what forces decided when and how people got visions. It was just another factor beyond her control, another unknowable threat.

The most frustrating thing: she had dealt with plenty of stressful situations in the past. _Why is it so difficult now? What changed? Have I so quickly gone soft? Ridiculous, I'm no damsel in distress... right?_

The last rays of orange fell below the horizon, but the moon, nearing full, maintained a glittering white light on the surface of the ocean. Katara focused on the energy radiating from Yue and began mentally going through her waterbending katas, in a fleeting hope that it would soothe her frayed mind, starting with the water whip. Then she moved onto the twin tentacles, followed by the octopus form, and finishing her imagined set with the fog cover technique.

When that became boring, she added an opponent. Azula came to mind, possibly because Aang mentioned her in his vision, possibly because Katara could think of no one more challenging to fight or more satisfying to defeat. A battle played out in her mind: Azula crazed and without grace, blasting her blue fire and lightning around with reckless abandon, Katara effortlessly channeling the lightning or dousing the flames with her water as they clashed along the rolling dunes of a beach – no, too easy – a dark forest. The fight was entirely one-sided nonetheless, and it soon was time to put the cruel royal in her place.

She called for the moon's power, basked in it, and then reached for Azula. The psychotic princess tensed for a moment, her brow furrowed in almost comical confusion, and then her limbs began twisting at odd angles. Her left arm yanked behind her back, her right arm wrapped in front of her neck, the hand clawing at her topknot like a thrashing canyon crawler scrabbling for purchase in a landslide. Pigeon-toed and hips jerking, she lost her balance and fell to her knees, followed with a sickening pop in one of her arms. _A dislocated shoulder, maybe?_

Katara focused more, on Azula's eyes, the same eyes that were often cat-like and predatory now widened in fear. She could sense the current – the _moisture_ within them – and she pulled a little. The eyes widened further in response. She pulled harder, and the eyes swelled, turning red and bloodshot. Azula was saying something, begging... screaming... and Katara gave one last, hard pull-

And the waterbender's eyes snapped open, accompanied with a gasp for breath. Aang's arm immediately tensed around her in reaction.

"Katara, are you okay?" Aang asked, concern laced in his tone. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Katara rubbed her eyes and took in as much air as she could in a long, deep breath. "I... fell asleep?"

"Yeah."

She rested her head against his chest, the steady beating of his heart not half as fast as her own. "Sorry. Didn't mean to leave you flying Appa alone."

He gave her shoulders a light squeeze. "I don't mind, it's probably good you get a little rest since we'll be flying all night."

Katara hummed in agreement. They remained silent for a few minutes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Aang asked, inevitably.

"About what?"

"Your dream."

"...not really."

"Oh."

More silence.

"I was thinking..." Aang started. Katara looked up to find him gazing at the moon. The moon suddenly seemed sinister to her, a great white eye staring down from the heavens, no longer her friend Yue or even Tui, but some abstract thing of wretched intent.

"About?" Katara asked, after she realized Aang was waiting for some response.

"Well, it really takes years to master a single element, let alone all four. We haven't had time lately, but... there's still more you can teach me. I kind of miss training together."

Katara almost jumped upright, but caught herself before she fell off Appa's head. Instead she settled for throwing Aang's arm off her shoulders and staring at him incredulously.

"What... what did I say?" Aang asked, his voice cracking.

"Aang... I'm not teaching you... never teaching anyone... _that_. How can you ask me such a thing?!"

"But-"

"You're the Avatar! More importantly, you're an Air Nomad! If anyone understands where I'm coming from, it should be you!"

"Katara..." Aang trailed off. His face suddenly shifted from mortification to realization, as he glanced from her trembling hands to the reflection of the moon on her eyes. "Katara, I wasn't going to ask you to teach me... what Hama taught you. I was talking about some advanced forms I never really got the hang of. Or even healing, if that's possible."

Katara felt even more blood rush to her face. She was certainly flushed from anger before, now doubly so from embarrassment.

"Healing? Of course that's what you meant. Why would you mean... sorry, Aang. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"It's okay," Aang said, but his shoulders sagged and he did not look her in the eye.

Katara settled herself back down and leaned against Aang again, but he did not move to replace his arm around her. Somewhere from the saddle behind them, Momo chirped, but didn't come down to join them. _Great, even the lemur is uncomfortable around me now._

"Do you trust me, Katara?" Aang asked, suddenly.

"What? Of course I do. With my life." Katara reached for Aang's hand end squeezed it gently.

"That's... not what I mean," Aang began. "You've always been there to listen to me. To talk about my fears, my mistakes, my losses, even when I thought I didn't want to. I want to be that for you, too. I won't make you-"

"Bloodbending," Katara interrupted.

Aang only nodded, his eyes meeting hers.

"I had a nightmare, or a daydream, I don't remember falling asleep really. But it was about bloodbending against Azula. It was... dark. But that's not what bothers me. So much."

Aang replaced his arm around her and ran his thumb over her hand.

"What bothers me is that in my dreams, I enjoy that control. I _enjoy_ that power. And I feel like it's twisting me up inside. I get angry at the people trying to restart the war and it's so tempting to just reach in and force them to stop..." she sniffled, pausing to wipe the tears from her eyes with her free hand.

"Katara, you wouldn't do that."

She turned to him, shaking, focusing just to at least keep her voice steady. "I already have, Aang. When I went with Zuko to find my mother's killer, we had the wrong man the first night. I bloodbended him, was ready to... I might have done it." She looked at her knees. "I never told you. I guess Zuko never said anything either." She laughed, though there was no humor in it. "He must have been terrified. Zuko, I mean."

She looked up and Aang held her gaze, his eyes warm and compassionate when she half-expected disappointment or a shocked recoil. But then, this was Aang, of almost infinite empathy, especially for her. It should have made her feel better, knowing that... but the gnawing was too insistent.

"Katara, don't feel guilty. In the end, you did the right thing."

"Barely," she sighed, bitterly. "I wish I had your conviction, Aang. You could single-handedly level and rebuild a city now, if you wanted to. You spared the life of one of the worst tyrants in history. I'm not sure I could follow your example with that kind of power."

Aang shook his head. "Katara, I'm not so good, all the time. I try to follow the teachings of my people, but I know I've failed to do so sometimes. Doing the right thing is rarely easy, and doing the wrong thing is often tempting." He smiled. "In fact, I can think of a few times where I might have done something horrible if you hadn't been there to anchor me. I want to you to know I'm here for you, too, and I always will be." He laughed, softly. "Besides, if I tried to build a whole city using the Avatar State, I bet it would end up pretty ugly."

She nodded with a half-smile and pressed herself closer against him, but her thoughts wandered back to her grandmother's words, seemingly ages ago, even if the context now was completely different.

_ Katara, try not to put all your hope in this boy._

She appreciated Aang's love and support, but was it enough to keep her from indulging in her darker abilities when the pressure was on? Shouldn't she be more independent? Aang's Avatar State was essentially a spiritual possession, at least initially, that she was somehow able to coax him out of, but her own inner power could not be blamed on past lifetimes taking over her body. When it came down to it, only she could be responsible for controlling that.

* * *

Yes, without a doubt, her nose was broken. Simple material science, really. Flesh and bone – in this case, her face – will always yield to the harder and stronger substance of iron – in this case, the war balloon's furnace. All that was needed was sufficient force to the impact.

This knowledge did not prevent Azula from swearing as loudly as she could, which only exacerbated the pain between her eyes. Evidently navigating a war balloon through a storm was just as ill-advised as with a tiny boat, despite the fact that she actually knew how to control the balloon.

The rain had been so heavy she could barely read her compass. The wind had threatened to blow away the tarp that kept her fuel dry, no matter how securely she tied it down. It was barely any consolation that the basket was designed to drain water away. Almost an entire day wasted, trying to engineer victory against pounding gusts and pelting droplets with just a tiny propeller and a blob of hot air.

Eventually, exhaustion had forced her to lose her footing on the wet floor of the balloon basket, and she violently kissed metal. Thus, the current arrangement of her aforementioned facial structure, not to mention a loss of consciousness. Losing consciousness meant losing her heading, a lot of altitude, and a lot of time. Swearing in a most un-princess-like manner seemed the appropriate response. The pain reminded her it was probably not.

It was night, but a nearly full moon provided just barely enough light. The sky was clear, which was a nice change of pace, but that only meant she was very far away from where she intended to be. A slight lifting sensation suggested she was descending at a gradually increasing rate._ Best fix that first. _She dug around for some dry coal and resupplied the furnace, chasing it with a half-hearted jet of flame.

In afterthought, it was dumb luck she was still in the air at all. The last thing she recalled doing before slipping was overloading the furnace – with the intention of driving the machinery beyond its intended limits – to try and pass through north. But she never got a chance to tweak the throttling mechanism (assuming, of course, she could discern how), so the furnace burned the load slowly. _Lucky me. But then... I don't believe in luck._

Even with that, the balloon was somewhat deflated. Her descent wasn't dangerously fast, at least not yet, but it was likely she would have been roused by drowning in the ocean had she been unconscious even minutes longer. She adjusted a few knobs on the furnace and a blast of heat erupted from the burner.

Azula chanced a look over the edge of the basket. _Scratch that, I'd have crashed into a tree, _Azula thought, as she peered over the dimly illuminated landscape._ I suppose that's marginally better... I must be somewhere in the Earth Kingdom after all._

She floated only a few hundred feet above a forest canopy. A telltale gleam from the west indicated the far off ocean, but all else around her was a grayish nightscape: treetops cast with a silver sheen from the moon. She dug up some star charts, courtesy of the Kyoshi girls, and tried to figure out her current location. She looked up at the sky, then back at the map, then back at the sky.

She was somewhere far into the Southern Earth Kingdom instead of the western reaches she was aiming for. Perhaps near New Ozai, or Omashu as it was undoubtedly called again, and very far away from any Fire Nation colony where she had a chance to blend in.

"Even the weather conspires against me," Azula grumbled. "But on the other hand, if I don't know precisely where I am, it's unlikely that anyone else does either. Perhaps this is a salvageable situation-"

One of the thick ropes holding the basket level, perhaps damaged in the struggle against the storm hours before, broke with an audible snap, followed immediately by two more. Balance lost, the basket lurched to the side, the burner tilted off-center, and the balloon itself, despite being made of resistant materials, caught on fire. Within moments, Azula began feeling that sensation of her guts racing into her throat again.

She pulled at the fire crawling along the fabric of the balloon, as one would yank a sheet off a bed, and it responded for the most part by leaping off the material and dying in the air. But it was too little, too late. Another rope snapped, the furnace and propeller assembly shifted and came loose, and she barely avoided being crushed or burned by hot coals is it spilled out of the basket, which was now hanging by one corner and kept suspended only by a rapidly deflating dirigible. Azula nearly fell, but managed to grab a stray rope and hang on. Somewhere below her, but not as far as she would have liked, she heard the metal machinery crashing through the branches of the forest canopy.

Azula climbed back into the lopsided basket, noted most of her supplies were lost, and slumped in a corner. In a few more seconds, the vehicle would be plummeting as fast as if she were just free-falling herself. There was nothing left she could do, and even if there was, she was too exhausted to act on it, even too exhausted to feel fear.

She felt a jolt as her rapidly descending aircraft struck the highest branches and began bouncing below the tree-line. The remainder of the balloon was torn away, and the next few seconds were nothing but a dark blur: wet things slapping her in the face or across the arms, the sound of shattering woodwork and broken greenery, and the screech of frightened animals. The only thing Azula hoped for now was that the fall would kill her instantly, but she fully expected to suffer with more broken bones and possibly get eaten alive by some jungle carnivore. It seemed to be fitting with the circumstances.

It was a few moments of closed eyes and white knuckles before she realized she was still alive and relatively unharmed aside from her previous injury. The basket was more or less upright, and swung back and forth gently, as if some giant creature was rocking the contraption like a child. In the pitch black darkness, she swore she heard a splash echo from below.

Azula took a breath and lit a flame in her hand. Slightly better, she noted, than she had been managing lately, but still taking far too much effort to sustain. She would have to make this reconnaissance quick.

The basket appeared to be entangled in thick, wet vines. Quite a lot of vines, actually, which connected to nearby trees, went up to the higher branches, or wrapped around yet more vines. It wasn't difficult to spot her point of entry, as there was a tunnel of broken branches and vines and a few visible stars behind and above wherever she was. And despite the dried blood caked in her nose, she could smell something organic and putrid in the air.

_This is not a forest... it's a swamp._

She peered over the edge and downwards, but her view was obscured by dark fog. Her only light, her own flame, couldn't reveal to her whether the swampland below was ten feet down or a hundred feet down. With a sigh, Azula closed her hand and total darkness enveloped her again. She would have to wait for the sun.

* * *

"It was nice of your old pal there to lend us these ostrich-horses."

"Yeah."

"You sure do seem to know a lot of people around here."

"Mmhmm."

"Unusually quiet today, huh?"

Ren just shrugged. Sokka was finding it increasingly difficult to get the colonial boy to say anything more than a monosyllabic grunt ever since they left the Taku area. And he was really looking forward to some manly banter on this mission. Aang was a good guy and a close friend, but decidedly lacking on the macho scale.

But then again, there was Toph to cover that, the fact that she was a girl notwithstanding. Although right now he was fairly certain she was sleeping, if only a light doze. The small girl sat behind him on his giant bird mount, arms wrapped loosely around his waist, her head leaning against his back. _Man, I hope she doesn't drool on me._

One of Ren's friends, an old stable owner living on the outskirts of the fishing village they had departed from, could only spare two mounts. It was likely he would have forked over two more if they played the 'this is the King of the Earth Kingdom' card, but Sokka wanted to keep as low a profile as possible. Besides, the big creatures could carry two people each; doubling up would only slow their overall pace down a bit.

Though now Ren had the other bird to himself, as Bosco had apparently become jealous and (according to the King) insisted Kuei ride him instead. Unfortunately, the bear's leisurely stride was not getting them to Ba Sing Se with any particular haste. Kuei had commented that at least his pet wasn't obsessed with heading westward anymore. _Who indulges the whims of an instinct-less regular bear? None other than Kuei, I'd bet._

The Earth King had toughened up considerably living as a nomad, refugee, and fugitive over the past few months. He was surprisingly helpful with fishing and setting up camp, and he had utterly discarded most of his noble etiquette and manners. Kuei was still a very polite man and still held an air of high class, but he was also completely at ease with picking up a fish on a stick and tearing into it with his bare hands and teeth. And he insisted he be treated as just 'another of the party, nothing more, nothing less'. Sokka found himself developing a new respect for the royal.

Kuei told some of his stories around the campfire the previous night as well. Run-ins with Xin Fu and Master Yu (Toph suggested their arrest be the first thing Kuei orders when he's back on the throne), a bloody Fire Nation ambush against the retreating Gan Jin and Zhang tribes, his time fishing on a little old boat, and crossing paths briefly with a beautiful bounty hunter (Sokka was happy to inform him that her name was Jun, and frequented a tavern somewhere near Makapu village).

But toughness is relative. Kuei's improvement by living out in the wilderness helped considerably, but he still trusted shady strangers. And he still seemed incapable of defending himself. And he still gave off an aura of richness and naivety. And that's why they found him tied up in a storage room on a pirate ship.

Sokka's stomach growled. Toph murmured something and sat up.

"Is it time for lunch?" she asked.

"Don't need to ask me twice. Let's take a break and eat quickly. We want to cover as much ground during the day as we can."

Toph hopped off the bird and yawned. Sokka followed suit, although his dismount was more like rain sliding off a leaf: rolling and fluid – until he hit the ground.

"Nice landing, meat-head." Toph snickered.

"Enjoy your nap, Tophie?" Sokka retorted, rubbing his backside.

"What did you call me?" Toph whirled, Sokka decided, like an angry flying bison.

Sokka feigned innocence. "Hmm, you mean 'Tophie'?"

"Yeah, that stops right now."

"What, I can't give you a nickname?"

"I don't even let my mom call me 'Tophie', why would I let you?"

"Because... of my wit and charm?"

Toph scowled. "Charm is Ren's department, what you've got working for you is the pity angle. You want me to call you 'Sokkie'?"

"It's not much different from 'Snoozles'."

"You got a problem with my nicknames for you?"

"I didn't say that."

"So you like them?"

"Err... what?"

"Oh, nevermind, just don't call me 'Tophie', or I'll pummel you into next week."

Sokka held up his hands in surrender. _Wow, she is crabby today._

Kuei and Ren appeared to ignore – or at least pretended to ignore – the entire exchange, as they rummaged through their packs for some cured meats and bread. The group sat on a fallen tree, except for Toph, who sat on the ground, forming a rough circle. The mossy make-shift bench rested parallel to the dirt road they were traveling on, and in all directions there were high trees, mostly coniferous, as was common in this part of the Earth Kingdom. The area was still and quiet, aside from the periodic bird call and what was possibly the roar of a distant stream. Sokka eventually decided the silence was uncomfortable, and he was a man who enjoyed comfort.

"So, Ren, how are you liking your first big mission? I mean, technically it's not a bounty hunting job, more of a bodyguard thing, but similar."

Ren gnawed on a piece of jerky and looked up. "It's... different than I expected. I'm not sure I'm fully prepared."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, I saw you with that crossbow thingy, hit that dumb pirate right in the knee!" Sokka smiled, happy to get a few sentences out of him. "I bet that stung. You're like a marksman with that thing."

Ren chuckled. "Marksman? Maybe. I've had lots of time with it. Mom set up a contraption that would lob wooden spheres in the air so I could practice on moving targets. Bit different shooting a human being though."

Toph cut in, "That why you've been so quiet all day?"

"No. Well, partly, maybe." Ren sighed. "That's not the main thing."

Silence again. Ren's eyes, normally a bright hazel, seemed like mud.

"Well, spit it out," Toph said before taking a big bite out of a loaf.

Ren groaned. "You saw me, Toph." The blind girl made a face. "Well, you know what I mean; I was standing right next to you. I was almost useless once one of those guys got close enough to swing at me."

"So... you're not the best swordsman in your village?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah... I might have embellished that statement somewhat. But I didn't realize how bad I was until yesterday." Ren looked down, frowning.

"Hopefully, we will be able to avoid any more fights on the way to Ba Sing Se," Kuei chimed in. Bosco seemed to whine in agreement.

Sokka tapped his chin. "Well Ren, if you're concerned about your swordsmanship, I just happen to be trained by one of the greatest sword masters of our time, if not _the_ greatest. Maybe I can pass some of that on to you."

Ren's eyes lit up. "Oh, why didn't I think of that? Too busy sulking, I imagine. Of course! I humbly accept your offer, Sifu Sokka!"

Toph palmed her face. "Ren... don't call him that, it will only-"

"Hmm, 'Sifu Sokka', I really like the sound of that," Sokka said.

"-go to his head," Toph finished.

"I hate to interrupt," Kuei said, "but I thought you said we had to maximize our travel time during the day? Would not practicing with sharp blades at night be dangerous?"

Sokka shrugged. "Everything is dangerous out here. We'll take some time during the day; I'd rather move a little slower and help Ren become a better fighter... in case we run into pirates or earthbending thugs again." He decided not to add that Bosco was already slowing them down plenty anyway, he could probably train Ren while walking alongside the road and be able to keep up.

"Speaking of training and earthbending," Toph said, "while you guys are playing with your toys, I can work King Pampered Pants here into a real earthbender."

Sokka turned towards Kuei. "You're an earthbender?!"

Kuei tugged on his collar. "Well, yes, technically. All Earth Kings must be by tradition."

Sokka threw his arms forward. "I've never seen you lift a pebble!"

"Well, it also happens that, by tradition, a King only earthbends during his coronation. It is considered... uncouth for one to do so at any other time, or so I was told by Long Feng. Plus I am rather poor at it; before Ba Sing Se fell, I had not used my ability since I was a child."

"And since?" Ren asked.

"I tried a few times to defend myself with bending, but the result was hardly more impressive than a non-bender just kicking the dirt up with the toe of his boot."

"I think you're going to have to make some policy changes. Kings should be earthquaking bad-asses, like Bumi," Toph said.

"Bumi's also nuttier than a squirrel-sloth's cheeks in autumn," Sokka noted.

"Better to be crazy than a pushover," Toph said with a grin.

"Perhaps I can learn to earthbend at least functionally and still retain my sanity?" Kuei asked.

"With Toph as your teacher?" Sokka burst out in an obnoxious guffaw. Toph punched him in the arm for his trouble. "Ow!"

"Oh, dear," Kuei said, shaking his head.

* * *

_Rise with the sun._

Azula felt a ray of warmth on her cheek. It was morning, perhaps late morning, but the light was definitely coming from the east. Her back and neck ached like someone botched a massage; and suddenly she found herself missing the bed at the Tomo Facility. She stretched and felt the bones in her back shift as well as heard them pop.

She moved to clean the bits of dirt from her eyes, but immediately stopped and winced. _Nose still broken, still considerably painful._

The sunlight managed to illuminate the swamp fairly well, and although it was warm and humid, there was no thick fog obscuring her visibility now. The ruins of her aircraft remained suspended by a tangle of vines, and it appeared to be about a thirty foot drop into the marshland below. She could jump down if it was deep water, but she had no way of knowing for sure how deep it was down there, or if she'd land in some kind of mud or quicksand. She would have to lower herself down on rope.

Unfortunately, rope was no longer in her possession. In fact, most of her supplies were gone, except her compass, her star charts, a small knife, some food and water, the coins in her pockets and the clothes she was wearing. If she was lucky, she could find some of the equipment that had fallen out during the crash, but it was more likely the swamp had swallowed it all.

Moreover, it meant she would have to climb down a slick tree without falling and breaking anything.

"Well, if I can hold onto a sheer cliff with a hairpin, this should be a snap." Azula stuffed everything into her bag of food, unsheathed the knife, and jumped out at the nearest tree. Her leap shook the basket loose from its precarious entanglement and caused it to flip upside-down, and she scolded herself for assuming it was safe to stay up there through the night. _Although, possibly safer than being exposed to whatever creatures lurk below._

Using the knife as a hold whenever she needed it, Azula climbed down the tree, the echoes of each strike that pierced the trunk reverberating throughout the surrounding greenery. It struck her as odd that, aside from her descent, the swamp was almost completely silent. At the very least, she expected birds to be calling in the distance. A swamp, after all, was just a cooler and perhaps wetter version of a tropical jungle, and Azula was certain that the tropical areas of the Fire Nation were never quiet.

"Azula, wait."

Azula turned towards the voice, knife in hand. She nearly dropped it.

"Zuko? _Zuko?_ Impossible."

"Do you know how great-grandfather Sozin died?"

Zuko was standing in the middle of the swamp, staring at a floating portrait of Fire Lord Sozin. If she had any doubt that this was an illusion, the suspended painting confirmed it. But when she blinked, the image was gone.

She shook her head lightly, and using her compass, found east and began heading in a straight line, or as much a straight line as the swamp would allow. At times she would have to hack through some vines or thick undergrowth, which was horribly inefficient with her little knife. Occasionally, she lit fire in her hand, then closed it, arguing with herself on whether it would be a good idea to burn her way through instead of slashing.

"Forget it! I'm not going!" Zuko called out, from somewhere, or everywhere. Azula immediately recalled her brother's borderline tantrum over not being officially invited to a war meeting before he decided to defect to the Avatar. Zuko and war meetings... it was so obvious how uncomfortable he was once he was there, although her father seemed not to notice at the time. And the fool nearly spoke out of turn again and got the _other_ side of his face burned.

She walked around a large tree and saw Zuko, again, this time leaning against a giant mushroom and holding a cast mold of his hand-print as a child. Azula was again flooded with memories, and found herself whispering, almost against her will, "Come on... come to the beach with me. This place is depressing."

Months ago he had nodded, his shoulders slumped in defeat, though defeated by what she did not know. Then she remembered the look that he gave her on their silent stroll to meet up with Ty Lee and Mai. A look of longing, of gratitude, and yet still guardedness, but in that rare moment they were siblings and nothing else.

But this apparition just stared at her. Azula clenched her fists and punched twin fireballs at her false brother, the bomblets stronger than she expected, and the blast detonated the mushroom into flaming chunks.

"You wouldn't understand, because you're just so _perfect_," Zuko said, but he was gone.

Azula growled. She'd prefer another encounter with the water tribesman, if she was to be tortured by mirages again. Anyone but her brother. Her brother, who spurned her efforts to reintegrate him into the royal house. Her brother, who stole the throne and the crown and tossed her into a padded prison to be forgotten. Azula continued on her linear path, using either the knife or sabers of flame to cut a path. The firebending was strenuous, but it felt good to vent her anger, and it was encouraging to see her ability to produce flame was at least nearing the minimum for a conscript.

_Who am I trying to fool? Bending like the rank and file of the military is pathetic for a prodigy._

"That guard told you!"

_Told me what? Oh, there goes Mai to untangle Ty Lee's braid._

"Why did you do it?"

_Do what? Oh, I told you Zuko, I was doing you a favor. It just so happened that I was also doing myself a favor at the same time, in case the Avatar survived. It would not do to have Father believe I was anything less than thorough._

"She's of no use to us now. How disappointing."

Azula ground her teeth. Ozai's voice was not loud, but he might as well have been shouting directly into her brain... _which is more or less the best way of describing these... visions._ She was wrong, she would much rather have Zuko around her right now than her father. And she couldn't fathom the sudden surge of these episodes, they were nearly constant now.

She was making progress while being harassed by these images, but the swamp could go on for miles and Azula was starting to wonder if she would die here. She didn't know what was safe to eat and none of the murky water looked safe to drink. She hopped over a log and nearly twisted her left ankle, before she found herself unable to move that leg and her right arm.

Coils of water had wrapped themselves around her limbs. She thought it might be a real waterbender, until she looked up and saw – impossibly – her _mother_ manipulating the element. In moments, her mother shrank down, grew gradually younger and slimmer, her skin tone darkening, until a more plausible and familiar figure controlled the liquid: Katara. This was a memory she preferred to bury, but here it was, insisting upon itself. Back in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se, it had not been the first time Azula felt like she might lose, but it was the first time in an absolutely critical battle, and the first time someone was there to back her up. And it was her brother that did so.

As if on cue, an arc of flame flashed by and cut the water links in half with a hiss of steam. But when the mist cleared, she still couldn't move her limbs. In place of the water writhed a thick coil of vines. In place of Katara lurched a large and ghastly creature. Azula could only describe the thing as a swamp monster: it was a mass of green sinews with a patch of bark loosely resembling a face. And it was huge. Her intuition told her it was also completely real.

The creature lifted her up in the air and threw her into a muddy pit, the impact not terribly painful save for the pang any sharp movement sent through her shattered nose. Azula brought herself up to her feet, breathed in through her mouth, and thrust two fingers forward as she exhaled. The resultant stream of fire scorched across the swamp thing's body.

_Good, it can be damaged._

However, the damage was superficial. A few charred bits of plantlike material fell to the ground, but were quickly replaced as the bark-faced hulk absorbed the surrounding flora into itself. Azula kicked and punched orange blasts in rapid succession, and each time the little scar would be healed. The creature simply walked through her attacks, lifted a massive arm into the air, and swatted her across the soggy landscape.

She felt dizzy, either from the impact, the lack of food or water, or all the exertion she had already put herself through today. She wasn't going to last much longer. So she decided to end it now, one way or another.

Azula took a horse stance. In a wide arc, her right arm traced a half circle, followed by her left, and sparks of blue escaped from her fingertips. She could feel herself slip into the familiar trance, focusing just on the energy itself, felt it growing and rising within her. She brought her chi together, outwards, and used it to cleave the ambient energy around her, to carve a path towards her target. And then she allowed it to come crashing together, giving it only one last instruction by pointing towards the giant thing trying to kill her.

She saw, for a moment, lightning. For the first time since the comet. And for a moment, the release felt good.

Then she realized she was soaking wet. And standing in yet more water. And her form was off to boot.

The lightning, like maggots on carrion, forked in random directions, mostly back towards herself. It was wild and unfocused, much different than when a firebender truly controls it, but it was still excruciating. She was being cooked from the inside out.

A pair of memories came to the forefront of her mind, pushing past the pain. She watched Zuko curled up in agony from her own lightning strike, the eerie glow of Sozin's Comet overhead. She watched the Avatar spasm violently as she shot him in the back. In both cases, she saw the waterbender shed tears and glare at her with both disbelief and utter hatred as she tried to bring the males back from the brink of death. As the images flashed by quickly, Azula shared the agony of her victims. But she had no waterbending healer in her corner. She had no one at all.

* * *

The ever-present humming of the war balloon's machinery was like a lullaby to Ty Lee. Her friend, traveling companion, and commander did not appreciate Ty Lee's dozing, but what did Suki expect? Being up in the air in a tiny space for such a long time was dreadfully boring, and the storm had been the perfect cover for Azula to escape. Why didn't Suki just call it off and regroup back in the capital?

Instead, they were flying in a mostly random search pattern along the coastal regions of the Earth Kingdom, following Suki's intuition and little else. They could not get past the storm to the north, so Suki had reasoned Azula probably didn't have much better luck. Of course, there was no way to be sure.

"I wish Sokka was here," Suki suddenly said, lowering her spyglass.

"Yeah... me too," Ty Lee replied dreamily.

Suki cleared her throat and Ty Lee found herself under a glare that could melt the Northern Water Tribe.

"That is, I mean, well... he is... ah... I'm sorry?" Ty Lee stammered out.

Suki shook her head. "What I mean is, he would have been able to figure out some plan by now. Azula never would have even escaped the Fire Nation." She sighed. "But I miss him too. A lot."

Ty Lee just nodded. It was safer that way.

"Oh, and just so we're clear-"

"Suki, I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our friendship, especially over a boy."

"Good."

"But he is a real cutie!"

"Ty Lee..."

"I'm just saying."

Ty Lee saw something bright reflect off Suki's eyes, and a low rumble shortly thereafter. Suki immediately grabbed the rudder assembly of their craft and changed their heading to bear inland.

"Aren't we supposed to stay away from storms?"

"That wasn't from any storm," Suki replied. "How often do you see lightning travel from the ground up to a clear sky?"


	15. Slag Over Sea

Chapter 15: Slag Over Sea

Zuko returned the bow from the recently promoted High General Tien and dismissed him to return to the Capital with Grand Sage Shyu. The seasoned veteran was not pleased about being left out of the coming conflict, and even less enthused that his lord was going to be risking his life without him, but this was going to be a naval battle, and Tien was the commander of the Fire Nation's remaining loyal _land_ forces. Should the worst happen, Tien's expertise would be needed here. Those facts didn't prevent the grizzled firebender from marching so roughly on the wooden pier that Zuko was concerned he might actually break through it.

Most of his council was already accompanying him anyway. Piandao and Jeong Jeong volunteered to serve on his flagship, although in what capacity Zuko had no idea. Somehow he couldn't imagine the old firebending master lighting pungent boulders while the swordsman cut catapult restraints. He laughed out loud at the thought, forgetting that he had a pair of political aides still waiting patiently to deliver some last-minute information.

They were both young men, though still older than Zuko by a few years, and he could tell they both wanted to ask what was so funny. Of course, there was nothing funny about the current situation.

"You have a report for me?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, Fire Lord," one of the aides said, after a moment. "As you requested, we have enacted contingencies that will allow members of your council to rule in your proxy, should the unthinkable happen. However..." the aide trailed off, shaking his head.

Zuko made his best effort to appear approachable. "Tell me everything."

"It will not stop your father or even your sister from making a claim to the throne, should either stage a successful coup. Such traditions are deeply ingrained in our culture and will always exist outside and above what is carved on the golden slabs of law."

"Not that we doubt your success today, Lord Zuko!" the other aide added quickly.

"I'm aware of the traditions of royal ascension... trying to disinherit either of them would only make those loyal to Ozai believe I fear him, according to my advisors." Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. "Anything else?"

The first aide quickly scanned through a short scroll. "We're expecting a surplus of ash bananas this year, we've returned the last of the prisoners of war to their home regions, and we're confident that the Capital's messenger hawk aviary is now free of dissidents."

Zuko smiled slightly. "Some good news, then. You're dismissed."

The aides almost scurried away backwards, bowing the whole time until they were off the docks. It would be many years before he imagined he'd get used to that sort of reverence. The Fire Lord turned and made towards the wide gangplank propped on the broad side of his capital ship, one of the few still moored, where Mai and Jee waited for him. To the nose of the ship, some last-minute supply crates marked with his national insignia were being pushed up the metal siege ramp and into the main cargo bays by a team of dockworkers.

"I must say, Zuko, serving as your first officer comes with a much more impressive ship the second time around," Jee joked, taking one of the few opportunities he would have today to be familiar.

It was indeed an enormous upgrade. Empire-class battleships were huge, heavily armed, and reserved only for the command of the navy elite. Zuko had two such ships at his disposal; the other was under the command of High Admiral Liang.

Zuko shrugged. "Sometimes I miss the old one."

Jee nodded. "As do I. Perhaps we can find another of the old Lancer-class ships after this is over and turn it into a private yacht?"

Mai sighed. "I was under the impression that sailor humor was more crass and less... stupid."

"We're keeping it polite for mixed company, my Lady," Jee replied with a level voice at odds with his grin.

"A shame, I was looking forward to picking up a few new words to pale my parents with," Mai said.

Zuko barely controlled his annoyance as he clenched his fists. "Now that we're done fooling around, could we please get on board and launch now? My father and his cronies are somewhere out there with a lot of ships and I'd prefer to fight away from civilian coastal areas!"

Jee dropped the grin and nodded as they walked up the ramp and onto the ship's deck. Zuko could appreciate the attempt to lighten the mood on one level, but there was too much at stake for him to attempt humor. He was annoyed enough already that Mai was here and placing herself in danger again, even if he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

He felt a tap on the shoulder. "Is that... what I think it is?" Mai asked, pointing up towards the clear morning sky. Zuko followed the general direction of her gloved hand before his gaze settled on a distant white blob. A white blob that was slowly getting larger.

Zuko felt a surge of relief.

"They must have received my messages after all! Jee, help me with a signal!" Zuko thrust both hands straight up in the air before bringing one arm down towards his side a quarter of the way, his posture roughly resembling a 'K'. Jee caught on and mirrored his pose, back to back. Seconds later bright columns of fire burst forth from the main deck. Zuko was certain he heard a familiar bellow echo on the winds in response.

Sure enough, within minutes, Appa landed with a heavy thump on the cold steel. Aang sprang off the top of the bison's head while Katara slid down his tail.

"Zuko! Hey! What happened? I thought I saw an explosion!" Aang said quickly, gripping his staff, eyes darting around.

"Explosion? It was supposed to be a big arrow of fire." Zuko said, inwardly wincing at the sound of his own whine.

"Oh... that's what it was?" Aang asked.

"It got you down here at least. So you read my letter then?" Zuko asked.

"No... we haven't heard anything from you or Iroh in weeks." Katara said, coming alongside Aang. "Hello, Mai," she added with a smile.

"Good to see you, Katara, and you as well, Aang," Mai replied with her own brand of muted warmth. Aang bowed distractedly.

"So, if you didn't get my messages, why are you here?" Zuko asked, then immediately blanched. "I mean, I'm glad you're here, and I'm sorry to be so rude – ah, hey Katara, didn't mean to ignore you – anyway, how did you know to come?"

"Well, I had this vision that I think had something to do with your sister, and I figured you'd like to know that the Fire Nation colonists are really getting along pretty well with the Western Earth Kingdom people on the Taku project, oh and some Fire Nation soldiers tried to capture Katara, Sokka, and Toph multiple times, and-"

"Okay, one thing at a time. I hope you know the soldiers that attacked you-" Zuko started.

"Weren't yours. I trust you, Zuko," Aang said.

"I'll look into it. Probably related to all the rest of the chaos going on in my country." Zuko sighed. "What's this about a project?"

"You mean Taku? I thought you signed off on it. The colonists and local Earth Kingdom people are building their own capital city and government," Katara said.

"What? I didn't sign – are they just creating their own country? Ugh!" Zuko was breathing thin wisps of smoke into the air. Aang and Katara shared puzzled looks.

"Well, you're right about one thing, Azula is running amok. Suki and Ty Lee are tracking her," Mai added while Zuko continued fuming. Katara immediately tensed.

"Is she the one sending soldiers after us?" Katara asked, fists clenched.

"I doubt it, she's insane and can barely firebend now," Mai responded.

"Aang should have taken hers away too," Katara spat.

"Katara, we've been over this, it's risky and a last resort, not to mention... invasive," Aang almost whispered.

"I know," the waterbender replied softly.

"More likely my father and some renegade members of his old council are the ones responsible for the soldiers that attacked you," Zuko said, recovering his temper.

"Ozai escaped?" Aang asked, "So all these ships..." he gestured towards the fleet moving out to sea.

"Yes... might as well be civil war. They've managed to gather a lot of resources and followers. Fortunately our old friends, Ran and Shao-"

"You mean..." Aang clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Yeah, them and their... associates contacted me. War Minister Qin's previously secret base is stationed not far from their home. I've already had it verified with my own scouts," Zuko said. Mai and Katara looked at the boys and then at each other and shrugged. He hated keeping things from Mai, but he was honor-bound to his promise. Besides, he imagined the dragons and the Sun Warriors might not be keeping themselves a secret for much longer anyway.

"We're not exactly sure how large their fleet is, but they have at least one ship like this one, and at least one airship, so I'm taking the offensive before they reach civilian areas. I'm sorry to drag you into this but... what are you looking at?" Zuko asked, as Aang seemed to be looking away and past his shoulder.

Zuko turned and spotted Piandao and Inuzo in a sparring match on the far side of the deck. Inuzo was a blur of motion and his blade doubly so, but Piandao parried his strikes while hardly moving at all. Even Inuzo's more acrobatic techniques did little to shift Piandao from his position. Was the old man teaching him something?

"Who's that?" Aang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Master Piandao? You've met before."

"No no, I'll say hello to him soon. The other guy."

"Huh? His name is Inuzo, he's a member of the Royal Guard now. A bit of a... zealot... but a good swordsman; he saved my life earlier this month."

"I guess Piandao took a new student?" Katara asked. "He's really fast."

"And weird," Mai added.

"Very..." Aang said, before turning his attention back to his friends. "Anyway, I'll be happy to help end this as peacefully as possible, but don't expect a repeat of the Northern Siege... that wasn't really me."

"I understand, Aang," Zuko said, placing a hand on his friends shoulder. With any luck, just the sight of the Avatar alone would have them throwing up white flags. But then, Zuko reminded himself, luck was rarely his companion.

* * *

"Is it perpetually fall in this forest, or what?" Sokka asked to no one in particular, the source of his voice high from his seat on the ostrich-horse. It somehow made him seem taller.

"What are you talking about? It _is_ fall," Ren answered from atop his own mount.

"Yeah, but the last time I was in this area it was the middle of winter, and the leaves were still red and gold and mostly attached to the trees like they are now."

"Well, maybe they had a warm fall last year. I do recall something about a sweaty harvest in the areas south-east of Dragon's Tongue."

Sokka snorted. "You're making that up. Toph, is he making that up?"

"How should I know? It's hard to read someone's heartbeat through an animal with another heartbeat, especially while I'm sledding around down here."

That seemed to end the conversation for the time being, which was fine with her. Trees were all pretty much the same to her whether they had leaves or not, and the mysterious colors of said leaves were of even less interest to her.

They were making better progress and were currently near the village of Gaipan, according to Ren, which was a town Jet and his Freedom Fighter's flooded and wrecked, according to Sokka. Somehow, after a minor tantrum from Sokka about keeping on schedule, Kuei managed to urge his bear into a more reasonable stride, roughly equivalent to the ostrich-horse's steady trot.

Toph was getting pretty sore from being bounced along on some bird and decided using her bending at this pace wasn't going to be very exhausting. She even managed to keep the path mostly level as she passed. Sokka wasn't too keen on leaving such an obvious trail, but he shut up when she pointed out that bear-prints were probably even worse, and she was smoothing those away bringing up the rear.

It was also a good excuse to get some space. She found herself getting too comfortable holding onto him, which rubbed her the wrong way for a number of reasons. Besides, the feel of soft dirt between her toes and the occasional sound of crunchy, dry leaves was a welcome distraction. She pawed absently at the texture of the small flying boar insignia on the chest of her tunic.

"I wish I had packed my pipa," Ren said, breaking above the dull rhythm of bird and bear feet.

"You are a musician as well?" Kuei asked.

"I'm okay... better with strings than with a sword, at least," Ren answered.

"Hey, you're getting better," Sokka said.

"Yeah," Ren said, "uh, how about your earthbending lessons, Kuei?"

"Well..." Kuei trailed off. Toph smiled towards him. To his credit, he was much less a sissy about it than Aang was starting out, but he also lacked much in the way of natural talent. She had only so far managed to get him to launch fist sized stones around. Better than nothing.

"Frankly, I'm kinda glad you didn't pack a pipa Ren. The last time I heard someone play was one of the biggest headaches of my life," Sokka said. Apparently the others looked at him expecting some elaboration, because he added: "musical nomads of the scatter-brained variety; don't ask."

"Still," Ren went on, "a little music would be nice." A leading statement if ever she heard one. "Toph, care to grace us with a song?"

Toph froze in mid-form and almost tripped over her own mound of dirt. "What makes you think I can sing, Pipa-boy?"

"Just a hunch. I'm sure you have a lilting singing voice."

"If by lilting, you mean crystal-shattering, than yes!" Sokka added with a laugh.

"How would you know, meat-head? I don't recall putting on any performances for your benefit."

"Ah, so you _can_ sing!" Ren remarked in triumph.

"I didn't-" Toph stopped herself.

Vibrations. Many, and coming quickly. Either the townspeople organized a marathon through the woods or...

"Toph, don't look so upset, I was just teasing," Sokka said.

"Get down!" Toph shouted while she raised some earthen cover. Moments later it came crashing back down, the pull of several earthbenders overpowering her own influence over the structure. Toph immediately felt her companions dismount.

The attackers were organized and said nothing. Sokka mumbled something about more marauders before she heard the whistle of his boomerang and the twang of Ren's crossbow. The group of ambushers parted evenly to each side of the path in an obvious attempt to flank them. There were at least a dozen, and they all appeared to be earthbenders.

"Hey Toph, if you sense any of the jerks who hit you on the head before, let me know and they're all yours."

Toph grinned. "Thanks, Sokka."

She kept her stance low and remained close to her friends, but she moved frequently within that limited space with earthbending-assisted slides and dashes, her free length of black hair trailing behind her movements. Stones flew back and forth, with neither side showing a clear advantage.

There was something familiar about this gang, something in the way they moved or in the way their feet gripped the ground, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Was this the same group she fought at Dragon's Tongue? She couldn't be certain unless they spoke; it's hard to learn someone's bodily rhythm in the middle of a fight, after all. But even then, when she fought them for the first time, some of them had already seemed familiar. Particularly their liar of a captain. What was it?

They were fast. Their style was quick, ruthless, and they used a lot of sliding techniques. They created walls and banks and attacked from strange angles. At times, she swore they bent the earth into a liquid.

Sokka frantically used his sword to deflect earthen projectiles, along with the assistance of Kuei who managed to stop and crumble several of them. Ren relied on his little crossbow, which so far managed to pin one assailant to a thick tree, but he was bound to run out of bolts very quickly at this rate.

Toph wished she was fighting in a metal-framed bunker. That would give her an edge.

And suddenly it became so obvious she almost laughed. Almost.

"Sokka, these guys are Dai Li!" Toph shouted.

"What? Seriously?"

Evidently, that was precisely the wrong thing to say. The apparent charade over, the men went from well-organized bandits to near-perfectly synchronized earthbending elites. Rock projectiles were replaced with stone hands and fists moving twice as fast, and Toph suddenly found herself completely on the defensive, breaking the attacks to powder before they could grab and subdue her companions.

Their mounts – including Bosco, she now noticed, were trapped in the earth up to their shoulders. Toph slammed the ground with her fist and ejected all three animals, as well as her three companions, well outside the ring of surrounding Dai Li agents on a slab of topsoil. With the opposite palm, she slammed the ground again, uprooting enormous trees and sending the Dai Li scrambling for cover, mostly underground. Toph herself tunneled quickly towards her friends, hoping none of the trees fell in their direction.

When she popped out seconds later, she was relieved to sense they were all mostly unharmed and preparing to make a run for it. In fact, Kuei had already taken off on Bosco. The bear was surprisingly fast when it wanted to be.

"Toph, get on!" Sokka said, touching her shoulder with his hand.

She moved it aside. The Dai Li were regrouping. "I'll hold them off, get going."

"What? No way!" Sokka almost growled.

"No time! We'll meet up later; I promise," Toph said.

"I'll hold you to that," Ren said. "Come on Sokka, you can't argue with a girl once she's made up her mind."

"I'm not leaving her behind!"

"Sorry, not open for discussion!" She raised a wide wall between herself and the boys. She could feel Sokka pounding on it from the other side already.

Toph turned and dragged her leg along the ground in a sweeping arc, sending a rolling wave through the forest. She was rewarded with the clamor of splintering timber and at least a few men shouting in alarm.

_Better not tell Aang about all these trees._

Behind her, she felt the retreating beat of two ostrich-horses. In front of her, men were tunneling under the fallen giants, splitting them in two, or launching themselves over them. They seemed pretty upset.

Toph spat to the side and prepared herself for the next round.

* * *

"Looks like they have about sixty destroyers and the original _Empire_ battleship. Our fleet is over twice the size, plus two airships and several war balloons," Jee said while peering through his spyglass.

Zuko's fleet had barely wrapped around the tip of the Fire Nation mainland's northern peninsula before they spotted a host of metal ships sporting Ozai's phoenix banner. Though they were spared the misery of rain as the day marched to late afternoon, the sky had become painted with a layer of dull gray, the layer of clouds blotting out the sun. Strong winds whipped the ocean into a churning, foamy mess, and on the observation balcony of Zuko's ship, the air made a good effort at robbing the Avatar's body of warmth, though Momo made for a passable hat curled up on his head. Aang tapped his fingers along the release trigger of his glider-staff. He felt Katara's hand squeeze his shoulder.

"Weren't we expecting at least one enemy airship?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, but they might be holding above the cloud cover, or attacking somewhere else, or still at Qin's base to the northwest," Jee replied. Zuko's expression darkened further.

"I don't like this at all. Signal the airships to increase altitude and check over the cloud layer," Zuko ordered.

"Yes sir," Jee replied, handing Zuko the spyglass and moving towards the interior of the bridge.

Aang tapped Zuko on the shoulder. "Zuko... I'd like to at least make the attempt at a diplomatic solution before... you know. Fireballs."

Zuko nodded. "I'll send a hawk," he raised his spyglass, "I can see Admiral Chan and I think General Mung on the deck of their flagship." He gave Aang his undivided attention. "I wouldn't get your hopes up though."

"Hey, I have to try," Aang replied with the best grin he could manage. Mai fetched a bird from a nearby perch while Zuko hastily scribbled a message onto parchment with a thin brush and ink. Jeong Jeong and Piandao stood off to the side, conversing quietly amongst themselves. Inuzo leveled a stony glare towards the horizon from the doorway to the bridge and kept his hand on the hilt of his longsword.

Aang didn't bother to hide his scrutiny of the swordsman, but Inuzo either didn't notice or pretended not to. Everyone else found him sometimes uncomfortable to be around but otherwise trustworthy; however, Aang's natural curiosity being directly opposed by Inuzo's tendency to avoid any conversation not related to combat and security only served to increase the Avatar's prying. But during most of the trip through the bay and the Gates of Azulon, the man couldn't be found.

"Zuko, your calligraphy is atrocious. You hold the bird, I'll write," Mai said, interrupting Aang's musings and quickly thrusting the hawk onto Zuko's arm, while he rolled his eyes and burned the first attempted note. In a few minutes, the messenger was airborne and Zuko was again watching intently through his spyglass.

"Anything?" Katara asked.

"They're reading it," Zuko replied.

"And?"

"Chan is... smiling."

"Huh?"

"Not in a good way... the Azula way. They're sending the bird back."

Then Zuko lowered the spyglass and frowned. Aang thought he spotted a faint flicker of light from the distant capital ship.

"Chan just shot the bird down. I guess that's his reply." He turned towards the open doors of the bridge. "Signal Liang's ship, fleet is to follow his orders unless I say otherwise!"

"Yes, sir!" Jee called from within the interior.

The distant horizon erupted with bright orange streamers trailing black smoke, like the ocean was putting up decorations for a party. Aang immediately felt the massive ship suddenly change direction and bank to the right.

"Aang?" Zuko looked almost as troubled as Aang felt.

"On it... Appa!" His bison immediately lifted from the main deck below, ready to take his friend into battle once again. Katara leapt across to a seat between Appa's horns; Aang floated over to the top of his saddle. Momo opted to find a new perch on Zuko's shoulder, to which he responded by giving the lemur an awkward pat on the head.

"Yip yip!" Katara said with a light shake of the reins.

Katara flew his animal guide straight towards the oncoming fireballs and well in advance of Zuko's fleet. Zuko wouldn't fire yet, he still had one more thing to try.

As the oncoming bombardment was about to reach apogee and start to descend towards his friend's armada, Aang stowed his staff, hopped off towards the ocean, and channeled the Avatar state. He felt the great power of his past lives: a thousand arms lifting him up, his body suspended airborne in a whirling scream of wind. Like a thousand waterbenders working in perfect harmony, he raised a wall of water hundreds of feet into the air. He could sense the impact of many dozens of flaming boulders contacting the barrier, the bits of his tidal wall being scorched away as steam, but there was far more water here than fire.

The entire first volley of Chan's attack was stopped cold.

All except one high shot, which Katara quickly skewered with a harpoon of ice she borrowed from Aang's wall. It was enough to send the stray artillery into a harmless drop to the ocean. She and Appa hovered a few paces behind him.

His tattoos still glowing, Aang gently lowered the defensive wall and again peered at the advancing fleet of the Phoenix King's navy. For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of the ocean beating against the hull of many ships, and the dull hum of many distant steam engines.

Then Chan's fleet fired a second volley.

"I can't believe they're still going to fight after you just did that!" Katara said from behind him.

**"Neither can I,"** Aang replied with the reverberating many-voice of the Avatar state. Instead of another looming wall, he instead opted to call shearing winds from side to side to knock groups of fireballs from the air. Some might get through, but the two opposing fleets were getting too close together to risk raising another tidal wave, especially if he was forced to drop it suddenly.

"Aang! We need to get back to Zuko, look!" Appa echoed Katara's plea with a roar of his own. Aang turned, his vision trimmed with the white gleam of his own eyes, and understood the reason for Admiral Chan's bravado.

Behind Zuko's waterborne fleet, seven airships exchanged fire with Zuko's two, and it looked like his friend's aircraft were already flaming wrecks and destined for a meeting with the bottom of the ocean. One of the ambushing dirigibles, much larger than the others and decorated with gold dragon sculptures, scattered bombs over Zuko's scrambling surface ships.

Worse still, many of Zuko's own destroyers had broken formation and started firing on their neighbors at point-blank range. Aang silenced the previous Avatars and landed on Appa's back.

"This is unbelievable," Katara said as she steered them in a wide arc to avoid the canopy of fireballs being launched between the opposing ships.

"Keep us low, I'll knock down any nearby shots," Aang said. "Don't worry Katara, I'm sure Zuko was prepared for this."

* * *

"I was not prepared for _this!_" Zuko yelled, slamming his fists down on the railing of the command tower and frightening Momo into flying around the interior of the bridge in panicked circles. "Seven airships and multiple mutinies? They knew we were coming!"

"Zuko, vent later, lead now," Mai said simply.

Zuko growled. "Right, right. Captain Jee, what's Liang's ship doing?"

"Believe it or not, returning fire on the mutinous destroyers and coordinating evasive maneuvers with neighboring friendlies. Firebenders are streaming light-codes almost non-stop."

"Thank Agni for small favors. Send a signal to his ship, we need our heaviest weapons to focus on the airships, that will at least force them far enough to stop the bombing. I'll leave the details to him."

The massive vessel shuddered violently. Another fireball impact, though this one must have grazed the command tower. Mai shifted her frame to keep balance. Everyone else tensed or braced themselves in a similar manner, save for Inuzo who pinwheeled his arms before falling to his knees. For all his grace and competence, there were times when the man just seemed to forget how his body worked. Or perhaps he was not paying attention. Fortunately it had not got him killed yet.

The ship shook yet again.

The view from the bridge was more excitement than she ever cared for. Throwing knives were of little use in a battle of this scale. Fireballs whistled in almost every direction. Zuko's loyal ships fired on nearby suddenly-enemy ships or at Chan's distant fleet, and those ships fired back with little concern of what they hit. Harpoon ballistae tore into hulls in the nearer skirmishes, the ear-bleeding screech of twisting metal the only evidence she needed to hear.

A whoosh of air announced the Avatar's entry to the bridge from the outside balcony. "Zuko... I don't know what to do, it's total chaos out there and I can't tell who is on what side anymore!"

"Tell me about it," Zuko said.

Mai frowned. Sometimes Zuko's lapses into self-pity came at the worst times. But he was already bringing himself out of that moment and steeling himself for dealing with these new complications. If it was one thing she admired most about him, it was his stubborn perseverance.

"I would suggest the Avatar concentrate on the airships... ours would be the ones sinking into the ocean," Jee said. "They have six, plus a sister ship to the one of Ozai's you disabled in the Earth Kingdom months ago, Avatar Aang."

Aang nodded. "I'll put some ice underneath your downed ships first Zuko, see if I can save the crews, then I'll knock down the others."

"Sirs, permission to speak?" Inuzo called from aside Jee.

"Go ahead, Lieutenant," Zuko said.

"I believe we should try to capture the larger air vessel. It is likely to have some of their leadership on board whom we could interrogate later," the swordsman said. "Not to mention we're out of air support now, save a few smaller war balloons."

"Good idea," Zuko replied. "Inuzo, get as many soldiers onto the balloons as you can and board that ship. Aang's got the rest."

"I can take more soldiers up with Appa," Katara said.

"I think your brother would be distraught if something were to happen to you here, Katara, so I'll be joining you," Piandao said with a smile. "Oh, and so is Jeong Jeong here." The old firebender merely grunted his assent.

The ship shook hard again, followed by more screeching metal and shouting from the decks below. Mai sprinted to the edge of the balcony to view the source of the commotion. Two destroyers had scraped up against Zuko's ship on either side, and the loyal firebenders on deck were feverishly working to ward off the attacking soldiers, some of whom were wearing the black and gold shoulder-plates she saw on Bujing's men. Mai flicked a trigger on her wrist and sunk several darts into the shoulder of an enemy spearman trying to climb over the deck rails.

"I think the rest of us are repelling boarders," she droned, before readying a handful of blades.

She did not get to throw them, however, as a shadow passed over her head, and she ducked reflexively. She was not prepared to turn and see Zuko launching himself over the edge of the balcony with absolutely no regard to the fact that the fall was more than enough to kill him. Her face even paler than usual and eyes wide open, she quickly stood back up and watched over the railing, praying he wasn't that stupid, and observed him slowing his descent with a burst of fire from both fists and feet, followed by a rolling landing. Apparently he was perfectly comfortable falling such distances. She, however, was not, and turned to follow Jee and several other members of Zuko's guard to the stairwell of the command tower.

She was surprised to learn she could run down stairs when the situation called for it. In less than a minute, she was out in the open air again on the main deck. Within that minute, a melee had broken out as the boarders had managed to gain a foothold on the sides of the ship.

Zuko sundered a soldier's spear shaft with the edge of his hand, then began downing enemies with twin daggers of flame. His face was grim as he spun and slashed, and Mai could see the pain in his eyes as he not only fought with his countrymen, but was undoubtedly chastising himself for allowing the situation to get this bad in the first place.

_It's not your fault, Zuko._ Mai threw knives at any obvious targets, such as those attacking Zuko, but it was difficult to tell who was on what side. Most of the warriors in this battle wore similar uniforms and identical insignia, which of course meant that anyone in distinct attire such as herself or Zuko were even more likely to be attacked. She really didn't want to be scorched by fire or impaled on a spear, the arrow wound in her shoulder from last week was quite enough.

Jee reached Zuko and the two firebenders fought back to back as they made their way to the starboard side of the ship. Mai tried to stay as close as possible while remaining on the edge of the fighting; close-combat was not her specialty, after all.

There were so many soldiers. Most of the nearby ships were still launching fireballs from their trebuchets. Some were friendly and some were clearly not. The stench of burning metal filled the air and Mai's vision became increasingly impaired by plumes of smoke.

Was the ship going to sink? Fire Nation battleships can take a lot of punishment, but they were tested against Earth Kingdom vessels and weaponry. Fire Nation destroyers are capable of much more damage in a short period of time.

Mai chanced a glance towards the rear of the ship. She could make out the contour of land on the distant horizon... but there was no way anyone could swim that distance save perhaps a good waterbender.

She turned again to see Jee, Zuko, and several other firebenders all focus a single attack directly on the bridge of the destroyer that had latched onto the starboard side of the ship. It erupted in a spray of broken glass, flame, and hot metal. More loyal fighters kicked off grappling hooks and boarding planks as the enemy ship lazily lurched aside. It was like a giant beast's body staggering after its head had been cut off.

On the opposite side, Admiral Liang's battleship closed the distance and pelted the opposing destroyer with fireballs and hull-puncturing ballista rounds. In minutes, the ship was a burning slag heap that would soon decorate the seabed. With no support, the enemies still standing either surrendered or found themselves quickly dispatched.

The chaos on Zuko's ship was quieted – for now.

"Damage report!" Jee shouted.

"I don't think I want to know..." Zuko said to himself.

Mai opened her mouth to speak but didn't get a chance. Chan's fleet had joined the fray at close range and his battleship appeared to be on a collision course with Liang's.

"Is he insane?" Jee asked.

The answer was a screech of metal on metal so thunderous that Mai and everyone around her was forced to cover their ears. When she looked up, she saw that Chan's ship hadn't so much collided with Liang's as brushed hard against it, though she couldn't be sure if that result was due to Liang's attempt to avoid the impact or not.

"Signal a balloon down, we need to get over to Liang's ship," Zuko said.

* * *

Aang was already away on his glider, so that left Katara with a bison full of Fire Nation men. She wondered if Appa was as uncomfortable with this as she was.

She could trust Jeong Jeong and Piandao, of that there was no doubt in her mind. She wasn't so sure about the handful of other soldiers behind her, however. A pack of firebenders behind masks and a far too intense swordsman. Especially with the back-stabbing mania going down at sea level.

Still, those firebenders and Jeong Jeong were the ones currently warding off the nearly constant streams of flame aimed at Appa as she guided them towards the giant airship. She wasn't sure she could maintain enough water to stop such an assault herself.

Getting in wasn't too difficult. The enemy firebenders shooting from the scaffolding below the airship were overwhelmed and while many of the war balloons in the boarding party under Inuzo's command opted to tie their balloons and enter from there, Katara took Appa in through the bomb bay doors, where she hoped he would be safe during the raid.

Her group quickly disembarked and cleared the room of engineers and soldiers. Firebenders were wary to use their talents in here with all the nearby explosives (in fact, she didn't see any firebenders defending this area) which only gave herself, Piandao, and Inuzo a greater edge in securing their foothold.

The manner in which they secured the room greatly differed, however. Katara used the water from her many pouches or ripped from nearby pipes to freeze her quarry to the walls or concuss them hard enough that they wouldn't be awake for hours. She's used potentially lethal force before, but to her knowledge never directly killed someone. Piandao, too, disarmed his opponents and used the flat of his blade or the pommel to knock them out, although one of his victims received a deep wound in his leg for his trouble and was very likely going to bleed out while unconscious.

Inuzo was a different matter entirely. Every stroke was a deathblow. He would slash at the throat or the stomach or pierce a man's heart and hardly look before quickly moving on to the next. Katara was no stranger to the horrors of war and open combat, but there was something about the cold efficiency of this swordsman that was deeply disturbing. She wasn't the only one to notice.

"Inuzo... was it really necessary for _all_ your strikes to be so... permanent?" Piandao asked as the group ran through the corridors of the ship's interior.

"I apologize, Master, but I am not quite so skilled as to afford the luxury of restraint," Inuzo replied between breaths. "I must be fast, precise, and decisive... I'm afraid my technique would be far less effective otherwise."

They approached an intersection.

"And where was it that you were trained, again?" Piandao asked.

Inuzo's eyes shifted left as they crossed into the center of the joining corridors. From the flanks, spearmen and firebenders ambushed the group. Jeong Jeong raised a barrier of flame on the right side, giving them a chance to fight in one direction. The masked firebenders in their party assisted Jeong Jeong as the defending benders on the opposite side tried to overpower the old master and force the wall down.

Katara held a water whip in each hand and struck at the firebenders attacking from the left. In the narrow hallway, it would be nearly impossible to avoid their attacks. She constantly kept them off balance to prevent any focused bending attack while Piandao and Inuzo took them down.

Of course, Piandao was still disabling and Inuzo was still ending lives. The firebenders went down and a few men with swords were next in line. Katara turned to Jeong Jeong to see that the opposite hall was blackened and several armored bodies were lying on the ground.

"Agh!" Inuzo cried out as the last enemy fell. Blood seeped from just above his knee.

Katara did not hesitate to draw water around her hands and touched the swordsman's leg, sealing the injury with an accompanying flash of blue light.

"Impressive," Inuzo said simply. Katara shrugged. Just being near him made her uncomfortable.

"Now where? I am not familiar with these floating abominations," Jeong Jeong said.

"Bridge is just ahead. You three should go; I'll take the firebenders with me to secure the engineering area," Inuzo said. Katara gladly broke away with Piandao and Jeong Jeong.

As they continued their dash through the ship, she gained an even greater appreciation for what Sokka, Suki, and Toph had managed to do during Sozin's Comet. Fighting firebenders in narrow halls while trying not to get turned around and lost was enormously difficult.

* * *

"Well, Momo, what do you think?" Aang asked of his friend as he stood on a tiny island of ice, surveying his work.

Using his full power was becoming easier and easier to do. Controlling it in such a manner without causing widespread destruction or hurting anyone was a different matter entirely. But he was pleased with the outcome so far.

Before him, six airships were impaled, grappled, or otherwise restrained by massive icebergs. Conjuring them was not the hard part, it was guiding the water and freezing it through and around the ships' non-personnel areas that was the challenge. It was a good thing he took the time to tour through the ship Sokka commandeered after taking Ozai's bending away.

Momo squawked at him.

"You're right buddy, we still have a job to do."

Aang turned back towards Zuko's surface ships still fighting amongst themselves or with Chan's very close opposing fleet. Smoke billowed into the sky. He followed the haze up towards the last remaining airship, where Katara and others were fighting. The floating mass was quiet and drifted around almost as if it was merely watching the battle instead of participating in it.

"Be safe, Katara."

* * *

Zuko dropped off the war balloon onto the aft deck of Liang's ship. Mai and Jee fell into step behind him, along with a couple firebending elites. He could hear the ringing of steel and the rushing crackle of bender fire just on the other side of the command tower.

In the periphery of his good eye, he spotted Aang's signature glow as he went from ship to ship and put a dome of ice over any that weren't friendly, effectively forcing them to cease fire or risk crushing themselves. He had already seen the Avatar's handiwork with the airships. It took a particular kind of fanaticism, he thought, to continue fighting against that kind of power. But even with the bridge between worlds bringing his power to bear, most of the others under the Phoenix banner did not quit. Did they have another surprise or were they just completely blinded by rage now?

As he ran onto the foredeck, he noticed that most of the fighting had come to a halt. Admiral Liang himself was posed in a firebending stance with Chan and Mung a few yards away in similar stances, two pair flanked by firebenders. Dozens of soldiers and crewmen from both forces were on the ground or limping away to the sides. None noticed the Fire Lord's presence.

"Ah, Liang, I do believe it is time to prove that the Eastern Fleet is superior to the Western Fleet, as was always the case," Chan taunted with a sneer.

"Look around you, Chan," Liang responded, "The Avatar has immobilized your airships and my fleet is even now painting the deepest trenches of the ocean with the debris of your vessels. You might have had some surprises for us, but you're outnumbered now."

Chan spat. "Pah! The Avatar can stop our ships and make big waves, but he's too soft to do what needs to be done to win. The advantage he gives you is short-lived at best."

Liang was unfazed. "I suggest you surrender... perhaps the Fire Lord will have mercy on you."

Mung growled. "Stupid old man! Your Fire Lord is false and you are a treasonous coward!" The scarred general thrust both fists forward and sent a pipe of fire at Liang that impacted like a battering ram of raw energy. Liang managed to suppress the blast but was still flung backwards. Zuko and Jee moved to the Admiral's side and helped him up.

"Ah, excellent. I can kill three traitors at once," Chan said.

"I think I'll have fun with the girl after we crush them," Mung added, his eyes falling on Mai just before sending arcs of flame wildly towards his three opponents. Zuko batted the fire away while Jee and Liang sent their own back. The attacks went back and forth, intensity escalating, three benders against at least fifteen.

Zuko focused his counter-attacks on Mung, though he was mostly on the defensive. He found himself slipping into the rage-fueled firebending state, something he knew was inferior to what he had learned from Ran and Shao... but reason was beyond him now. He just wanted this to stop by any means, as quickly and brutally as necessary. If they were outnumbered, he was going to at least take that pig down or die trying.

Doubt was creeping up the back of his mind. It was starting to look like the latter. His body was exhausted, as no doubt Jee's was. Liang, though clearly a skilled tactician, was only an average bender. Their best chance was actually Mai, whose attacks required the least amount of energy but was limited by the amount of blades and darts she had on her body. She carried more than he could count, but it was not infinite.

Still, she was quietly picking off one firebender after another, going unnoticed due to the blinding lightshow from every other combatant, and Zuko found himself granted more and more opportunities to strike back. Chan didn't even notice he was alone until Mung screamed, clutching at the dart in his groin. It was this that snapped Zuko back under control... Mai's sense of justice had a dark humor to it.

Pushed up against the railing at the bow of the ship, the renegade admiral surrendered.

* * *

Katara wasn't sure what she was going to do if she found Ozai on the bridge. Even without bending, he was too dangerous, held too much influence. But after seeing Inuzo so casually deal out death, and knowing Aang's feelings on the subject, she found herself torn by indecision.

Fortunately, or perhaps not, Ozai was not commanding the ship. Qin was.

There were few guards and officers on the bridge, and none were particularly threatening. Piandao and Jeong Jeong took them out while Katara froze Qin to the helm controls.

"Where is Ozai? Why are you doing this?" Katara demanded of the War Minister.

Qin shook his head, a movement heavily impeded by the ice up to his neck.

"Not here, little Water Tribe girl. He's away on... family business," Qin responded.

"You better spill everything you know, or I will spill _you!_" Katara seethed. Qin immediately turned pale.

"Please! Don't kill me! Ozai is at Pohuai!" Qin squealed.

"With Azula?"

"What? No, with-"

One of the glass panes on the bridge of the ship burst open. Katara shielded herself and the elder White Lotus members with a thin barrier of water, then stepped forward, whirling her element into a ball with glass shards suspended within. Whoever was trying to ambush her was in for a world of hurt.

But nothing came in but the howl of wind. She held her water sphere in front of her, waiting for an attack that she was certain would come.

Instead, she found her attention drawn back by Qin, as he uttered a barely audible gurgling noise and began frothing at the mouth. Dropping her death-ball, she moved back to the minister and found a dart sunk deep into the back of his head.

She pulled the dart and began healing, but it was too late. The injury was minor, but the dart had clearly carried a very potent and fast-acting poison directly into his brain. He was dead in seconds.

"I don't understand. Who would attack from outside the window of an airship thousands of feet above sea level and kill a defenseless prisoner?" Katara asked of her companions.

"Someone very desperate to keep Qin silent," Piandao answered.

"And someone... very dangerous," Jeong Jeong added.

* * *

Aang landed on top of the scaffolding beneath the remaining airship and snapped his glider-staff shut. The battle was essentially over, and he had to make certain that Katara was unharmed.

He hardly took two airbending-boosted strides before nearly bowling over a man dressed in Fire Nation armor standing at the entryway to the ship's inner structure.

"Avatar Aang, come quickly! I need your help binding the prisoners!"

Aang frowned. "You're that swordsman who was practicing with Piandao, right?"

"Lieutenant Inuzo of the Royal Guard... you know this. Now I cannot stress enough the urgency-"

"How many more are there?"

"A few dozen. They're being watched-"

"No, I mean, how many more... like you."

Inuzo raised an eyebrow. "Swordsmen? Royal Guard? This is hardly the time for this discussion."

"You disguise it really well, you know," Aang went on, "at first I thought you were just really fast and agile... but even the best acrobats can't change direction in midair, no matter how slightly."

The wind blowing underneath the belly of the zeppelin picked up slightly, shifting Inuzo's short hair. Inuzo's earnest expression turned to a small smile. He chuckled.

"Well, I suppose my orders to avoid direct contact with you were prudent after all. You definitely earned your tattoos."

"Orders? So there are more... all this time I thought I was the last of my people..." Aang looked down at the ocean.

"We have our reasons. I'm sorry for that... and this."

Aang felt a slight pinch in his arm, like the bite of a mosquito-spider. He looked at the dart in his arm, then at Inuzo, who was exchanging the blow-gun on his lips for a whistle.

"Whuh... why?" Aang asked as his vision blurred.

"Don't worry, you'll live. But we need to know who's side you are truly on." The voice was garbled and thick as if passed through mud. Aang felt as if he was falling, then breathed in the familiar scent of bison fur, then nothing.


	16. All Eyes East

Chapter 16: All Eyes East

His armor reeked. The metal framing was bent or warped in several places – blackened – just like the countless ships he watched sink below the surface of the ocean mere hours ago. The cloth trim and padding was soaked through with sweat; the hardened leather mottled and cracked from revolving exposure to sea-spray, fire, blood, and smoke. Warped leather... just like the skin over the lifeless faces of far too many soldiers... the faces his people, even if some had refused to acknowledge it.

Zuko stood under the dark blanket of a cloud-veiled night on the deck of Admiral Liang's _Empire_-class battleship. It was the only capital ship that survived the battle – possibly the only of its kind left in working service. His own ship took too many hits to stay afloat, and Chan's ship had been rigged with blasting jelly to self-destruct, killing even more people after the battle was over.

Every war balloon was destroyed or disabled. Every airship too, save for Qin's captured super-airship, unless one counts the relatively small diplomatic aircraft that Zuko still had tethered to the mainland. Of the nearly two-hundred destroyers involved in the battle, less than ninety remained, and Zuko feared a few more explosions from the captured ones yet.

He didn't even want to think about the casualties. If it were not for Aang's benevolence, the body count would have been an order of magnitude greater.

That word: fanaticism. Even when Aang rose walls of water nearly as high as that of Ba Sing Se, they didn't stop. _Did they think they could win? Did they care? Was accepting my vision of peace really less appealing to them than all of this?_

_Is peace _worth_ all of this?_

A lone ray of pearly light from the waxing moon pierced the clouds and cast itself across the forward deck. Running a shaking hand through his disheveled hair, he accidentally knocked the Fire Lord's crown from the precarious knot in which it rested. He was surprised the artifact was even still there.

It fell with a clatter, relatively quiet compared to what his ears had been recently exposed to, yet it echoed like thunder to his ears. He turned slightly, staring blankly at the object on the ground for several minutes, before a gloved hand reached from his periphery and obscured the dull gleam reflecting off its tarnished gold surface.

Wordlessly, Mai stepped behind Zuko. He felt her tug some strands of hair back into place, the familiar tightness as she rebound his traditional topknot, and the slight weight of the golden flame slide back into place on his head. Then she gripped his shoulders gently and turned him to face her.

"It feels heavier," Zuko said, not meeting her eyes.

"I know, Zuko, but you are still the one to wear it."

He managed a slight nod.

"So," she continued, "what do we do now?"

"Head back up to the bridge," Zuko replied, forcing resolve into his voice, "I'll figure out the rest as I go."

As they ascended via the main stairwell of the command tower, Zuko made his best effort to order his thoughts, separate his reasoning from his emotions, and push the dread, despair, and rage down to a more manageable numbness until this particular disaster was completely resolved. It was not something he was good at, on even the best of days, and Zuko suddenly found himself overcome with the urge to drink gallons of tea. Or perhaps something stronger. Idly, he wondered if his uncle's fondness for the beverage evolved into the complete zealotry it was today after his catastrophic siege at Ba Sing Se.

_Uncle_. He would understand this pain better than anyone. He would have exactly the advice for dealing with it. He'd know how to move forward, even if Zuko would fail to understand the message in his words, as he often did. But it did him no good to dwell on that, Iroh was not here to help him. Judging by the clipped summary Katara gave of Qin's last words, Iroh might even be with Ozai, and no doubt it would be a less than brotherly reunion.

'Family business' could have meant anything, though. Zuko's father could have captured Iroh somehow, or he could have changed his mind and recruited Azula after all. That was, of course, assuming she was still alive, which was questionable based on Suki's last report from the river-borne village of Jang Hui, as apparently Azula took her stolen balloon straight into another storm.

It even could have meant Ozai was holding his mother, though Zuko prayed that was not the case, because even he didn't know what he was willing to give up for Ursa's safety. He preferred her fate remain a mystery than risk having to choose between her and the well-being of his country.

He shook his head. _I'm lying to myself now. I'd give almost anything to know where she was and if she's still alive._

"What do you mean, 'he left'?!" A shout, jarring him from his introspection. It was Katara's voice echoing from around the corner. He couldn't make out the response, but it sounded like Jee was trying to calm her down. In vain.

"No, I wasn't on Appa with him, obviously!" Katara shouted again, as Zuko and Mai entered the bridge. Zuko couldn't tell if Jee was ready to throw Katara out the window or jump out himself to escape her, but even his rigid military discipline was straining under the Water Tribe woman's fury, if the wrinkles on his face and the clenched fists at his sides were any indication. Admiral Liang and the rest of the bridge crew made an obvious effort not to be involved.

"What's going on?" Zuko asked, even though he really didn't want to know.

"The Avatar's bison was last seen departing Qin's airship, Sir. And since the Avatar hasn't been seen for hours, we can only assume he left to attend other duties," Jee summarized.

Katara spun on Zuko, tears brimming from her eyes. "He wouldn't just leave without me... without saying anything!"

Zuko replied by breaking eye contact, turning to look at the strategic map on the table with a pensive frown.

"I know what you're thinking, Zuko," Katara continued, bringing her voice down, "but he promised me. He promised he would never just... _disappear_ again."

"Katara," Zuko started, still staring at the table, "remember the last time... he doesn't always have control of these things."

"No, something is wrong... something happened to him – I know it!" she yelled, then spun back at Jee. "Which way did Appa go?"

"No way of knowing; the bison went straight into the cloud cover," the captain replied evenly.

Katara just growled and made for the door. Before she passed through, Zuko caught her arm.

"What are you going to do, surf around in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of the night, parting clouds from thousands of feet away?" Zuko asked, eyes boring into hers.

"Let go of me." It was barely a whisper, and all the more unsettling for it. Zuko recognized the tone, soaked with malice, as the one she had once used to threaten his life. When it came to Aang's safety, there can be no compromise with her. He released his grip with a frustrated sigh.

Unfortunately, Mai was unfamiliar with this unspoken rule, and no sooner had Katara been freed of Zuko's hold, she found her opposite arm immediately captured in Mai's hand instead. Zuko felt a dread chill at the base of his spine. The two girls just stared at each other for a moment, and Zuko swore the room was charged with energy just waiting to explode just like his attempts to conjure lightning.

"Katara, if you get yourself killed tonight, I think even Aang might have a hard time forgiving you," Mai stated, as sharp and brutal as her knives and delivered with all her monotone quietness, though she might as well have screamed it.

Zuko braced himself.

But Katara didn't explode. Instead, the silent tears that had been rallying under her eyes raced down her cheeks, and she leaned against the metal wall to stare at the ceiling, shaking her head. Mai let go of her arm.

"Are you...?" Mai began softly, trailing off.

"No... just... give me a minute... please," Katara replied with a slight wave of her hand, bending the tears away from her eyes as they fell.

Zuko was stunned, though he supposed something going unexpectedly _right_ was a nice change of pace. Mai and Katara did not have much time to get acquainted with each other after the war, and were frequently attacking each other before that, so seeing that confrontation end in anything besides violence was a miracle as far as he was concerned.

Perhaps it wasn't who said it, but what she said. Aang being unable to forgive was ludicrous as far as he was concerned, but if anything would give him pause, Katara coming to harm would be it, even if she herself inflicted it.

"Orders, Lord Zuko?" Jee asked as Zuko approached the map.

Zuko sighed, finding a sense of direction coming to him at last. One clear choice would be to send someone trustworthy to the Sun Warrior tribes to thank them for their timely information and make sure they were unharmed, as their note mentioned some close calls with curious enemy patrols. They probably wouldn't appreciate yet another person knowing of their existence, but Zuko didn't have the time to go there himself, and the fact they delivered their message in all likelihood from the back of a dragon told him they might be loosening their policy of secrecy somewhat. Perhaps Jeong Jeong would be a good choice... the bitter old man would benefit from a bit of perspective on firebending principles, and as a Lotus member he was already privileged with many secrets anyway.

But for immediate orders, Zuko stuck to the obvious. "Disperse the fleet. Get the high-profile prisoners to the Boiling Rock, the lower rank soldiers I want held in the nearest mainland prison, and the rest of our remaining ships back on their previous patrol and relief efforts."

"Sir, are you sure that is wise? Ozai and Shinu have retaken the Pohuai Stronghold, and may have other resources."

Zuko shook his head. "Pohuai is in the Earth Kingdom, Jee. I don't think approaching their shores with what appears to be an invasion force will go over well, so that hopefully means Ozai's forces are small as well. I'll need something quieter to go after my father. A small team."

He turned to look back at Mai and Katara. Mai didn't even need to say anything, she was going with him and he had little say in the matter. He had to admit she was a logical choice anyway.

"I'll help you, Zuko," Katara said, her voice slightly trembling, "I don't know where Aang went... maybe he'll be there too. But I want to help." Her tone clearly indicated she didn't expect to find Aang in Pohuai, but he welcomed her offer. Katara had already proven herself to be quite capable of stealth when she wanted to be. Hopefully in preparing to put an end to this final conflict her optimism would return.

"Any word on Inuzo, Jee?" Zuko asked, knowing the swordsman would be an asset.

"Still missing... I'm afraid we have to assume he was killed raiding Qin's airship and... thrown overboard."

"I see..." Zuko said, shaking his head, "Jee, see if you can pull up a list of any members of the guard or navy with stealth and infiltration training, I'll take the top two or three with us."

"What about the Kyoshi Warriors, Zuko?" Katara asked, joining the conversation at the table.

"Sent them days ago with a small ship and some equipment to regroup with Suki and Ty Lee." Mai said as she too approached the map board.

"In the mean time, Captain, I want you and the rest of the council to focus your efforts on finding as many badger-moles in our military and government as you can." Zuko ordered. "We lost a lot of lives today from surprise mutinies and I won't make the same mistake again. I think Chan and Mung will be of some use in that."

* * *

It only took mere minutes of observation and reasoning to arrive at her conclusion. It was so obvious it was laughable. Azula was rather proud of herself, as she imagined most people would allow their fear or pride to prevent them from accepting such a truth.

_I'm dead. Dead, dead, dead._

The only thing that surprised her was her willingness to accept it. Perhaps the spirit world influenced the souls of the deceased to find their passing more palatable, or perhaps she was relieved to be free of worrying over the future.

Azula was not a spiritual person by any means, but she was still educated in some religious mythology. It had, on more than one occasion, been useful knowledge when manipulating superstitious people or finding ways to quickly motivate a crowd. And she had to admit, she found the stories to be enchanting as a child.

She was no longer in a swamp, but standing in the center of a small straw hut of some kind, and the floor was dry, mossy earth. Earlier she had risen from a lumpy mat against the wall under a thin blanket – using familiar things to ease the departed into the afterlife, she mused. The hut had two small windows letting in some kind of other-worldly light, but it was too bright to see outside, and Azula was convinced there was nothing outside to see anyway. A thick curtain of beads and a dark skin or blanket covered what appeared to be the exit. She made no attempt to leave, however. That would be improper.

Other than that, the hut was sparse. There were a few jars stacked in a corner, and an odd collection of shells pinned underneath the windows, which had earlier spoken to her in Zuko and her uncle's voices. She ignored them.

To the untrained eye, it seemed like an ordinary peasant's dwelling, but Azula was far more astute. First of all, she clearly remembered electrocuting herself. It was excruciating and she almost certainly damaged her heart. If that hadn't killed her, it obviously rendered her unconscious, which left her at the mercy of that bizarre plant monster or simply drowning in the shallow water.

If that wasn't enough evidence, her nose was no longer broken, nor did she appear to be suffering from any injuries at all. She felt very weak, tired, and sore, but that creature at the very least cracked some ribs, and she couldn't even find a bruise – an easy inspection considering she was completely nude.

But then, what use did the spirits have for the human concept of modesty?

Clearly this was some kind of waiting room for the recently deceased, before they were judged or assigned to a greater spirit for care... or maybe reincarnated, she wasn't sure which. Even the threat of divine judgment didn't faze her much – after all, she couldn't change her life after it had ended. Maybe she would be lucky and Agni would make her one of his guardian fire-birds.

"Oh my... uh... I see yer awake," a soft, feminine voice called... with an accent that tended to blend certain sounds together into a less decipherable mush.

Azula turned slowly towards the rattling beads of which she now suddenly became aware, and the figure standing in front of them. She appeared to be a young woman, perhaps only a few years older than herself, fair-skinned with eyes the turquoise shade of tropical water, though that may have been a trick of the light from the windows. Her build managed to be lanky and curvy at the same time, as she stood several inches taller than Azula but with much rounder features. Her hair was shoulder length, light brown, collected in dozens of thin braids and decorated with brightly colored beads. She wore a loose green shirt devoid of sleeves and decorated in still more beads, and a long green skirt that appeared to be made out of reptile skin covered in grasses and ferns. Her feet were bare and her face was tinted slightly pink.

Azula didn't miss a beat. "Ah, you must be some lower-rank messenger spirit. Perhaps a forest nymph? Can you tell me what's to become of me?"

The nymph raised a full, dark eyebrow. "Say what hun? A nymph?" It laughed. "Flatterin', but most folks call me a fog-witch 'round these parts..."

"Oh, of course... spirits love to be coy. Well, I've accepted that I'm dead already, so let's get this over with."

The woman became serious. "I ain't no spirit, and you ain't dead, girl, though ya came awful close."

"I'm not..." Now, suddenly, she picked up on all the clues she conveniently ignored. It still _smelled_ like a swamp. She could still hear the wildlife outside chirping and singing. It was the sun that roused her. She still felt things like hunger and thirst and exhaustion. The room itself had the distinct scent of healing salves, likely the contents of the jars in the room. All the materials looked indigenous to a swamp, except for the shells.

There was absolutely nothing spiritual about this place at all. Was she really so eagerly capable of deluding herself and filtering out what she doesn't want to perceive?

All of this also meant she was standing completely naked in front of a stranger from a swamp. Though she was used to being dressed and bathed by servants, servants averted their eyes and could easily be considered very intelligent animals. This woman was not a servant. Azula flushed red and made an awkward grab for the blanket she had discarded by her sleeping mat, wrapping the thin fabric around herself.

"Nothin' I ain't seen before, hun. Though I gotta admit, didn't expect to see so much of ya while on yer feet. Or so soon," the woman said with an awkward smile.

Azula desperately thought of something to change the subject. Death seemed more appealing by the second.

"Fog... witch?" she managed to choke out.

She blinked. "That's right. Can't say I'm fond of the title, sounds a bit nasty. Most folk just say 'healer'. But Uncle Huu says I should be proud of it."

"Uncle Huu?"

"Y'all've met," the woman stated casually, then added with a serious tone, "that's why yer here."

Azula was having difficulty with her peasant drawl. "You call that swamp monster your uncle?"

The woman laughed. "Oh my, no. Uncle Huu is jus'a man with way too much time on his hands, but he's very particular about his swamp, understand?"

Azula frowned. "No, I do not. Am I a prisoner here?"

She shrugged, shaking the beads on her shoulders. "Old geezers argued that yesterday. Yer free – we don't want no trouble – but I reckon ya shouldn't be going nowhere without more rest... or clothes. Waterbender healin' makes ya real tired – makes me tired too – and you were needin' a gator's gullet worth of it," the woman said, then added, "Oh, and kindly refrain from chopping or burning the plants when ya leave... Uncle Huu ain't too keen on it, and neither is the Tree."

Azula nodded slightly and stared at the ground, trying to make sense of what she was hearing. She crashed in the swamp, broke some local law or possibly did something blasphemous to them, got in a fight with a man... _ah._

She recalled reports from the eclipse regarding a filthy waterbender who actually manipulated the water in plants to make himself into what was essentially an organic tank. She had to admit it was an impressive technique, both on paper and having experienced it herself. Vulnerable to bombs though... she should have used more concussive fire and less incendiary.

However, if she now had an idea of who these people were – a third Water Tribe (and a revolting, dirty one at that) – then there was a good chance this Uncle Huu knew who she was as well. Yet they not only spare her life, but allow her to leave?

"So... what's your name, hun?" the healer asked.

"Ilah," Azula replied. _Evidently I wasn't recognized after all_. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or insulted.

"My name is Mimiluu Jo, but friends call me Mijo."

"Well Mimil... Mim..." Azula sighed, "Mijo... can you tell me why I've been stripped of my clothing and possessions?"

Mijo's eyes flashed in annoyance. "Uh, hun? Had to treat yer burns, cuts... my uncle brought ya in with smoke still tricklin' from yer ears. Clothes were soaked anyways, bein' wet and cold don't do much for the healing, and you were out for nearly a day." She added with a scowl, "How 'bout less questions 'n' more thank yous?"

Azula just frowned, but made an effort to appear contrite. It would be no advantage to her to make enemies at the moment.

Mijo softened. "None of the men saw you, if that's yer concern. Just me, doin' my job."

Azula nodded, still frowning.

"Mind if I ask what'sa little firebendin' miss doin' in the middle o' Foggy Swamp?"

Azula scrambled. Half-truths in a pinch. "I... stole a balloon from... my family, ran away. I was caught in a storm and crashed here. If I've been out for a day I should leave immediately."

Mijo tiltled her head, the beaded braids dancing freely. "Not without some food and more rest. Why you runnin' from family?"

"We don't exactly get along. They've sent mercenaries after me."

"They must really want you back... reckon you might want to try talkin' things out with 'em?"

"That is not an option. My clothes?"

"Where ya gonna go?"

"North. To the colonies. I really must-"

"On foot? All by yer lonesome?"

"That is the idea!" Azula shouted, finally losing patience.

A long pause. Mijo seemed to stare not just at Azula, but through her, which was made all the more uncomfortable by the fact that she already felt exposed enough in her threadbare blanket. Finally, Mijo just shrugged.

"Ok then, Ilah, I'll get yer stuff."

* * *

This was about as close to meditation as Sokka was willing or able to get. As he dragged a rough stone along the edge of his boomerang, he listened to the gravelly, grinding noise of stone on metal.

Strictly speaking, the boomerang was made of bone, like most tribal weapons. Metal was a rarity in the Southern Tribe, or any water culture for that matter, as it always needed to be traded for. But there existed a species of fish somewhere in the frigid southern oceans, aptly named the blue metalbone, which apparently tastes like damp tree bark but whose bones have properties similar to quality steel.

Sokka's weapon was a gift passed down from his father's side of the family. No one knew where to fish for blue metalbone anymore, and in a time of war it was more practical to craft weapons out of more common materials. It was one bit of traditional knowledge he intended resurrect both for his people and to earn his place among the White Lotus. All the boys in his village should have boomerangs.

_And I guess the girls too, if they want... or I'll never hear the end of it._

He felt the slight vibrations running up his fingertips as he smoothed away the imperfections in his weapon. But when he thought about vibrations, he thought about Toph's earth-o-vision, which obviously reminded him of his missing friend, which was why he was drowning himself in a repetitive task in the first place.

Boomerang was razor sharp by now anyway. Though he had an uncanny talent with the weapon, he still often worried that a sudden gust of wind or a slight miscalculation would cause him to lose some fingers catching it. He stowed the weapon and dropped the grindstone in his pocket, hoping instead that the view might ease his nerves.

After fleeing the apparent Dai Li agents, he and Kuei followed Ren's suggestion of taking a relatively new ferry from the western shore of West Serpent Lake all the way to the northern tip of the Serpent's Pass. From there, they could continue on to Ba Sing Se with their mounts, which should be well-rested by the end of the ferry ride. The plan was to leave a message for Toph – if she didn't beat them there – and get the King back on his throne. Mission complete.

He stared west over the wooden railing of the ferry boat. Past the water of the lake, the shore, and the forest. She was somewhere out there. With no one watching her back. If the cloud of dust and the crash of falling trees yesterday had been any indication, Toph had really pissed off the Dai Li and got them to follow her south, towards the Great Divide. Did she know about the giant bugs that lived there?

Even despite the fact that grown, adult, male earthbending elites would be understandably furious at being out-done by a nearly thirteen year-old girl, Sokka found it surprising that the professional and cold Dai Li would drop their target to chase her. Weren't they after the King? Or have the agents motives been whittled down to simple, petty revenge?

Something wet touched his hand. He turned slowly to find Bosco was nuzzling him with his big bear nose. Ren and Kuei stood farther back on the deck, but began to approach once Sokka made eye contact.

"Hey," Sokka said.

"Good morning," Ren replied, while Kuei just offered a slight wave in greeting before leading Bosco away.

The two young men stood in silence for a while, staring into the sky, at the churning water below, or far to the west.

"It seems I exhausted my supply of bolts in that last fight, but I know the measurements... they're basically like long carpenter's nails, so most blacksmiths can manufacture them," Ren said, finally.

"That's good," Sokka replied.

"I'm getting a tad antsy on this boat, you want to spar for a bit?" Ren asked eagerly.

"Not really feeling it right now."

Sokka felt a hand on his shoulder.

"She'll be okay... she's the toughest and most frightening earthbender I've ever met."

"Yeah... I know you're right... but I still worry. I worry about her, and my sister, and Suki..."

Ren clapped his hands on the railing. "Your sister is twice as terrifying as Toph, not to mention under the protection of the Avatar! I don't see you fraught with concern over our airbender friend, hmm?"

Sokka scoffed. "That's stupid, Aang is a powerhouse and can handle himself."

Ren just smirked at him. Sokka sighed and hung his head over the railing.

"Okay, I get it, colony jerk. The girls can handle themselves too, it's just ingrained in me to protect them, and when I can't..."

Ren nodded in understanding, allowing Sokka some quiet. Sokka felt himself getting lost in the rhythmic chop of the lake against the hull of the ferry, but it wasn't long before Ren started chattering again.

"So... who's Suki then?" the colonial asked.

"My girlfriend," Sokka said with a small smile.

"Oh, I didn't know... she back home in the south pole?"

"She's a Kyoshi Warrior, from the island."

"Wow...I've heard stories..." Ren smiled. "You enjoy being surrounded by terrifying women?"

"You get used to it... mostly."

Ren laughed, and Sokka chuckled lightly.

"I was under the impression you and the young Miss Bei Fong were an item," Ren added, still laughing a bit.

Sokka stopped laughing entirely. "Me and Toph? If that were true I'm pretty sure I would have clobbered you by now over the constant flirting."

Ren held up his hands defensively. "Whoa hey, just an observation. She seems rather sweet on you."

Sokka sighed. "I... guess I knew that. But we're just close friends, you know? We've been through a lot together, but she knows I love Suki... she can read it in my heartbeat." Sokka shrugged. "Besides, I've seen her get 'sweet' on the current Fire Lord, and she's been warming up to you too, for that matter. She's still... young."

"Aang's age." Ren stated.

"Don't remind me. Though he is technically one-hundred-twelve and spiritually thousands of years older than that... and I trust him. I just don't want my baby sister getting hurt."

"Yeah, I would worry more about the Avatar if he has a change of heart," Ren leaned on the railing. "So... Toph is just acting on a bit of a crush then?"

"I honestly don't know," Sokka replied, scratching his head. "What about you? Got a lady waiting?"

Ren snorted. "Have we met? Dozens, of course!"

Sokka laughed. "You're so full of it. Seriously."

"Enterprising bounty hunters cannot afford to be attached," Ren stated, as if reciting from a textbook.

"Right, right." Sokka nodded with a slight roll of the eyes.

* * *

_Sluuuurk._ There went her other sandal, the leather bindings snapped, the sole consumed by viscous mud. Now she was barefoot, just like the peasant following behind her. One step closer towards rock bottom.

"_I won't have my first day as Fire Lord marred by poor foot hygiene!_"

Azula turned towards her waterbending shadow and scowled. "Are you mocking me?"

Mijo quirked an eyebrow.

"Di'n't say nothin'."

Azula crossed her arms. "You do not need to be escorting me out. I promise I will restrain myself from setting the swamp on fire."

The swamp native rolled her eyes. "I ain't worried about you burnin' things, I just don't want to have to heal you a second time. Yer welcome, by the way."

Azula ignored the lead in. "I have my compass and charts, and my provisions. Provided your insane and inadequately clothed uncle resists the urge to bludgeon me with the local flora, I'll be just fine."

"Yer one to talk about a shortage of clothes, missy," Mijo shot back.

Azula felt a rash of heat creep up her neck and self-consciously checked to make sure her garments were still in place. "That was a... I was clearly still disoriented!"

"I'll just bet. Hours of healin' can really take the wind outta ya."

Mijo put her hands on her hips. Azula kept her arms crossed and narrowed her eyes.

"Are you expecting something?" Azula asked.

Mijo threw her hands in the air. "Oh fer cryin' out loud! Is it too hard for snotty little princess firebender to say 'thanks'?"

Azula's eyes shot wide. "What did you call me?"

"Yer getting' worked up over being called 'snotty' or 'princess'? I've got harsher words than that, Ilah, but yer still a young'n."

Azula allowed herself to relax slightly.

"Anywho," Mijo continued, "if you must know, the nearest town outta the swamp is Nan Shan, up the river. I need to replace some supplies and since yer headin' north too, it'd be safer to go together. Then ya can go be pissy all by yer lonesome again."

Azula uncrossed her arms and stared at her compass. "None of the other swamp dwellers would escort you?"

"Uh... they were busy, hun." Mijo said, which Azula immediately detected as a lie.

"Perhaps they would volunteer more eagerly if you were not such an insufferable nag."

Mijo stomped the thick mud with a growl and flung her fist forward, urging a small jet of murky water to splatter harmlessly but loudly against a nearby tree.

"Just follow me and put yer stupid dancing needle gadget away!" Mijo grumbled as she trudged past Azula.

No more words were exchanged for the next few hours, and Azula was appreciative of the silence. In fact, she was tempted to thank Mijo for keeping her mouth shut, but the desire to frustrate Mijo by refusing to express any gratitude was even more appealing than the irony of thanking her for something other than her healing.

The ground beneath her feet was slowly becoming drier and more stable, and Azula had to hold back her increasing eagerness to sprint the rest of the way out of the mire. Of all the world's natural wonders, swamps struck her as the most profoundly unpleasant. Unfortunately, Mijo seemed to not be in any particular hurry, even stopping periodically to very slowly draw a drink of water out of the air or munch on what appeared to be a candied insect. Azula had never seen the waterbending technique but was not particularly surprised or impressed by it; the swamp oozed moisture everywhere. As for eating bugs, she'd sooner die.

Finally, the pair had traveled far enough that the surrounding trees and soggy ground could arguably be considered a damp forest instead of a swamp. Unfortunately the denser earth was also rougher on her bare feet. The first thing she would have to buy in town (and possibly the last, her money was running out quickly) would be a pair of sturdy boots. Concentrating on placing her feet in the softest patches of grass, Azula nearly ran into Mijo, who had suddenly stopped again in front of her.

"Huh. Some earthbenders musta had a race or somethin'," Mijo said, staring intently at a pair of wide ruts running across their path. Azula leaned around the woman's tall frame and scoffed.

"Those tracks were not made by any earthbender. They were left behind by a rail-less transport train."

"Wailin' what now?" Mijo asked.

Azula rolled her eyes. "A big, fast, metal wagon. Fire Nation engineering." Azula cocked her head askance. "Looks like it had been through here recently, in the past few hours even..."

Azula began looking around nervously. She was certain she could feel a not-so-distant rumble.

"What is it?" Mijo asked, looking nervous herself.

With a deafening and sudden crash, a train burst into the clearing, running along the same path it had carved previously, which was dangerously close to where Azula and Mijo were standing. Azula rolled backwards and landed in a kneeling position, thrusting both fists forward to project a jet of flame towards the advancing metal behemoth. But the flame was weak again, like it was back on Ember Island, and the train plowed through her feeble attack unscathed.

As Azula rose to her feet to find cover, she noticed Mijo hadn't moved and was staring at her incredulously. Then the swamp woman seemed to relax and smile, just as the train blew past her with scant inches to spare, yet not even moving a hair out of place. Azula was certain she saw Ty Lee and Mai waving from an open window.

_Oh, of course_.

"Y'all okay, hun?" Mijo asked, barely containing her laughter.

Azula scowled. "I take it you did not see anything."

Mijo just shrugged. "No, but don't worry, ya ain't crazy or nothin'. The swamp likes to show people things. People you've loved or lost, my uncle says."

Azula rolled her eyes. "All I saw the machine that makes those tracks. I don't believe I ever felt attached to one."

Mijo just shrugged again.

Azula spun on her heels. "Never mind, let's just keep going while we still have light."

* * *

Finally, he wiggled his pinky finger. Even though it was a tiny movement, Aang felt some of the gnawing panic that had been creeping up his throat like a bad vegetable stew abate. There was something deeply disturbing about paralysis. He could still breathe, still move his eyes, and his heart still pumped blood... but otherwise it felt like one's own body had been repurposed into a prison.

When he woke up on Appa's saddle with the wind blowing around him, he had assumed that Katara had rescued him and she was taking them down to Zuko's ship. It was dusk, after all, so he could only have been out a few minutes. He was about to call out to her (without being certain he even could) when he heard Inuzo having a conversation with Momo about all the other lemurs he would soon meet. Aang decided he would then keep silent until he was able to move again.

Unfortuantely for Aang, the swordsman chose that moment to peer up over the front edge of the saddle and caught the Avatar's open eyes. Inuzo mantled over the wooden trim and quickly folded his legs into a lotus position, sitting mere inches away from Aang's prone form, with Momo perched on his head. He just stared for a few minutes, and Aang stared right back.

"Good to see you're awake, I was beginning to think I may have overdosed you. But I suppose being out for a day worked out well enough – I was able to acquaint myself with your animal companions."

Momo chirped and flew off, likely in search of bugs. In spite of himself, Aang became aware of how hungry he was. _A whole day?_

The swordsman sighed. "I realize you must be furious with me. I humbly apologize for the theatrics, Master Avatar, but they were necessary in order to make a quick and quiet egress. I was hoping you would not be so perceptive."

Aang just frowned at him, a slightly less effective gesture with him laying down on his side.

"Although, I suppose I should also be pleased the Avatar of our time is not so easily deceived."

Aang decided to try his voice. He was surprised to find it was hardly impaired at all.

"You have a bison whistle," the Avatar said. He immediately thought of a hundred other things he would have rather asked about.

The spy quirked an eyebrow. "Indeed."

"Appa listens to you, even though you attacked me?"

The man shrugged. "Your bison is a noble creature, and I believe he would give his life for you... but he is also wise and knows I mean you no harm."

Aang made a _pfft_ sound. "What did you do to me, Inuzo?"

The former guard's eyes blazed. "If it is one blessing to have my cover blown, it is that I no longer need to carry that damnable Fire Nation cover name!"

Aang couldn't help but cringe slightly at the outburst. Or at least he would have, if his muscles allowed it.

"My real name is Iioru," he said after a moment.

Aang felt his patience rapidly draining away, despite his impotence. "Okay then, Iioru, what did you do to me?"

Iioru drew a dart out of his pocket. "A combination of Shirshu venom and White Jade extract, with a few other ingredients. It paralyzes, sedates, and suppresses chi flow. Also likely to make you very itchy. Amazing what you can find in old books and scrolls."

"What! You're going to make me itchy and then I can't even move my hands to scratch?" Aang complained.

Iioru again raised an eyebrow. "I would think that would be the least of your concerns, Avatar Aang."

Aang raised his voice. "You're right, my concern should be over the survivors of that disaster, but for some reason I can't move!"

"It will wear off in time, and you know I cannot allow you to return, anyway," Iioru said.

Then he again fell into a furious boil, clenching his fists and staring at Aang darkly.

"What?" Aang hazarded.

"I would like to know why you care about the lives of the people who massacred your own." Iioru ground out.

Aang tried to look as dignified as he could lying down. "_Our_ people respect all life, Iioru. What kind of Air Nomad uses poisons and swords? What kind of Air Nomad Avatar would allow hundreds of people to kill each other?"

Iioru seemed to settle back down. "I never said I was an Air Nomad. I'm an airbender, as you've noticed, but you are still arguably the last of your kind. The teachings of the elder monks and nuns did not protect us from having our homes razed and our ancestors slaughtered."

His speech again began to lean towards fury.

"I ask you again, Avatar, keeper of peace and deliverer of justice, why protect a country of murderers and thieves? They deserve to consume themselves from within. There's almost a sort of poetry to it."

Aang frowned. "What... is wrong with you? I can't punish an entire country for the sins of soldiers and lords. I have friends in the Fire Nation. They're not all bad people!"

Iioru laughed. "You mean the current Fire Lord?"

"He's one of them, yes."

"The same man who set villages on fire and assaulted you and your friends dozens of times? Please. He wanted the throne for himself. At first capturing you was the means to an end, then befriending you was. He's scum, like all the rest, and in time he would certainly betray you."

"You don't know-"

"I believe I do! How can you expect more of a man who would turn on his own family? In time, you will learn." Iioru stood up and made to hop back onto Appa's head.

"Wait!" Aang said.

Iioru paused.

"What about Katara?" Aang asked.

Iioru seemed confused a moment, then understanding. "Ah, the pretty Water Tribe girl. I made certain she was unharmed during the battle, though I do not believe she is as safe with the Fire Lord as you apparently do."

"I trust Zuko with my life. So does Katara."

Iioru laughed again. "Both of which he will certainly claim, when it suits him."

Aang scowled. "So where are we going, then?"

Iioru smiled. Aang decided it was a distinctly unpleasant expression on Iioru's face.

"Home, of course."

* * *

"Ah, General Shinu, you have a report for me?" Ozai asked, as he stood gazing from the ramparts of the Pohuai Stronghold at the night-cloaked Earth Kingdom vista.

"Y-yes, my Lord," Shinu said. Ozai did not like the hesitation in his subordinate's voice. It meant bad news.

"And?"

"The traitor Iroh is still being worked by the Dai Li using their... procedures. But your brother proves very resistant. Their commander suggests taking him away to a specialist."

Ozai scowled. "Incompetence. I believe the value of these so-called elites may be overrated. Perhaps their endorsement from Azula was the first sign of her instability." He shook his head slightly. "Very well, have him moved if that's what it takes, Iroh will still make a useful puppet."

"I will give the order, Sir."

Ozai continued to stare out at the night sky for a few minutes, before he noticed that Shinu was still present.

"Is there something else, General?"

"Yes... it seems that our fleet was... completely destroyed by an intercepting fleet led by your son and Admiral Liang. The Avatar had also intervened."

Ozai's blood ran cold. He hadn't expected to hear anything from the fleet for another day at least, and then to hear that they had begun to assault the capital. After he was done with Iroh he planned to return to his son and dictate terms of surrender. Then execute him.

Instead, Qin's associates had failed to keep the Avatar away, and Zuko was now undoubtedly coming for him. He would never have his throne back. But perhaps he could still have his revenge.


	17. A Beast Cornered

Chapter 17: A Beast Cornered

Ever since she had run away from her parents last spring, Toph discovered on an almost daily basis she possessed many more strengths than just powerful earthbending and unique 'vision'. She even admitted to herself – begrudgingly – that she owned a few weaknesses as well.

She could teach. She could bend metal. She could out-scam a con artist. She could make – and keep – close friends.

However... she could not see well in sand, could not hit airborne things without help (unless they were made of earth), and could not swim. She apparently has a thing for older guys with girlfriends.

_Ugh... focus! Rock-like!_

It was one particular skill she employed to maximum effect now. She could get Sokka fuming by jabbing at his warrior's pride, Katara steaming by opposing her motherly edicts, and even rile the peace-loving Avatar by abusing his glider-staff as a nutcracker.

Undoubtedly, Toph Bei Fong was a practiced expert at pissing people off.

"Oh come on! I've _seen_ cave slugs hurl pebbles larger than that!" She yelled over her shoulder, making sure to heavily stress the word 'seen' as she neatly sidestepped a speeding stone projectile. A few hundred feet behind her, she could hear one of the Dai Li agents grumbling, and another speak quietly to his ear.

"Agent Yong, remember your discipline. She's merely a child with... freakish capabilities."

Toph smirked. _I'll give you 'freakish'._

"Yeah, Yong, remember your discipline, or Captain Touchy there won't give you a sensual oil massage later!"

Now she heard _two_ distinct growls accompanied by a flurry of stones. Toph just laughed and dove underground. It was a temporary measure, as she was certain the agents were capable of listening through the earth somewhat, and more than able to dig her out, but it bought her time for a quick headcount.

She sensed eight men in a rough semi-circle, closing in on where she burrowed in the ground.She began discreetly tunneling aside to outflank them. _Damn, I started with all thirteen agents... guess I must've beat the stupid out of them._ _But if they caught on, what are these clowns still doing here?_

It was a 'big-picture' question for Sokka, really. She shook her head and was content enough to know that she had the entire squad giving chase long enough for her three male companions to get a considerable head start. Even though the Dai Li could probably overtake them with their weird skating technique eventually (she desperately wanted to know how they did that, it was like earth-sledding but with far less effort and noise), the fact that Bosco at full stride was still reasonably fast gave them a good chance to get to the next town.

Or farther. She had the Dai Li tailing her all afternoon before they pulled back at night. A shame, as darkness might have given her the edge to put them out of commission. But it also meant she got a chance to sleep. Sleep was good.

Of course, as soon as the first morning rays began to warm the earth, she felt the Dai Li trying to creep up on her tent. They were pointedly light-footed, especially for earthbenders, and she was shocked at how close they had managed to get, but shattering her earthen shelter like a bomb – and adding a taunting laugh even the Boulder would be proud of – certainly gave the impression she had it planned that way all along. All the better to infuriate them.

Unfortunately, her gambit was severely lacking in planning. She slept, but not soundly, waking several times to nocturnal animals creeping about and once a branch breaking from a tree. And all her food, water, and supplies were tied to a pack on Sokka's ostrich-horse. The adrenaline rush from waking up and immediately jumping into action was giving way to exhaustion, hunger, and thirst.

She pressed her palms flat against the sides of her little subterranean shelter. She waited, and listened.

Most of the surrounding area would be called a forest, although not a terribly thick one. Clusters of trees were often spaced far apart and separated by stone-littered plains, fast-moving streams, or small rivers. Farther to the south, the terrain became even more rocky and barren. To the northeast: the edge of a great mass of water, likely the lake Ren and Sokka had retreated towards.

The Dai Li churned the earth where she had been five minutes ago, violently tilling the soil in a manner that would have likely crushed every bone in her body. Evidently they weren't taking prisoners. Maybe this _was_ personal, which she thought was funny considering how cold and professional the agents used to be. Either that, or she was just too much a threat to... whatever they were involved with.

Sokka would look for a tactical edge. She could raise a dust cloud, but the Dai Li were smart and skilled enough to settle it back down. She could run to a river and then suddenly reshape it, but she was equally terrified of drowning in her own trap. She searched in her unique way for an abandoned tank or some other source of metal, but she only detected one thing about that size within her sensory range, and unfortunately it was definitely not iron or steel.

_Just a stupid- Wait. Oh... oh this will be good._

Toph burst out of her hiding place and launched a hail of earth at the group of Dai Li searching their scrambled dirt heap for people-pieces. To her chagrin – but not surprise – they all reacted quickly and deflected the entire attack. The chase was back on.

Despite knowing it was of limited use, Toph raised a blinding cloud of dust before breaking into a surging earth-wave at the highest speed she could manage. Which, when not concerned about collateral damage or covering her tracks, was at least ostrich-horse fast. The Dai Li quickly pursued, breaking out of the cloud without even bothering to disperse it.

The best advantage Toph had was that these agents could not attack her with anything she could not sense coming. If they pulled earth from the ground to use as a weapon, she would know the instant the first grain shifted. If they used their stone fist and foot techniques, she could sense those projectiles coming as easily as a seeing person would notice a blazing fireball. The chains and shackles they sometimes carried were a threat, as she could not yet sense or influence metal without direct contact, but she would have noticed if any of her pursuers were armed with such noisy things.

They tried anyway, and Toph had to make an additional effort to knock down or redirect their attacks. Fatigue pulled at her body as if she were being bathed in thick tar. Their attacks lacked precision now, and instead came in overwhelming volume, though Toph was uncertain whether this was an intentional strategy to wear her down, or merely a loss of control.

Toph ceased her earth-tilling travel and slid into a grassy clearing bordered with tall, thick shrubs, and a few gnarled conifers. As the Dai Li squad quickly caught up to her, the small girl put a big grin on her face and leaned casually against the nearest tree, employing the use of an index finger to clear her nose of some dirt.

'Captain Touchy' was the first to speak as the eight men formed a perfectly spaced line a few yards in front of her. "You're under arrest."

Toph snorted. "Oh please! We both know there is nothing official about this." She punctuated her remark by flicking the winnings from her nostril in their general direction. At the same time, she slid one foot ever so slightly to her left.

Just over the thick, natural hedging, something cried out. Not quite a growl, not quite a squeal, but something in between. _Come on, you know there's people over here..._

Hooves on hard-packed dirt. The massive boarqupine tore a hole through the shrubs, snorting furiously, with spines the size of arrows clacking together on its back. With a feral glare, it searched out whatever sorry creature had the nerve to poke its rear with a stone spike in its own territory. Toph slid discreetly around the trunk of the tree, leaving the enraged animal only able to stare at the eight earthbenders arranged in an orderly, perfectly charge-able line directly in front of it.

So naturally, it charged them.

"I'm going to crush that little brat into powder!" Agent Yong shouted as he and his fellows dove out of harms way. The earthbenders immediately tried to capture the animal in the ground, knock it down with stones, or slow it in earth suddenly made sand, but it was too fast, too strong, and far too angry.

Toph casually walked along the wrecked bushes and away from the battle, barely able to hold her laughter. There was a ton of motion behind her, an array of raging and terrorized heartbeats, frantic earthbending and yelps of pain. With the immediate threat handled, the last of her combat-rush seeped away, and she nearly fainted from the exhaustion that flooded her body like a broken dam.

She stopped to take a breath, and realized too late her mistake.

She wasn't far enough.

It was too soon to relax.

Whether it was an intentional attack from one of the agents who spotted her slinking away, or just a stray boulder in her direction, her body was now just too sluggish to react, even though she knew it was coming well in advance. The barrel-sized projectile crashed with bone-cracking force into her right side, clipping her arm and shoving her through the greenery down a shallow, rocky slope.

Toph tried to smooth and control her landing as she was rolling, something that was difficult enough when fully rested and uninjured. When she finally came to a gravelly, grinding stop, the rock responsible for the ride gave her one last scare as it nearly rolled over her legs. Instead it came to rest a few paces farther downslope, mocking her with silence.

"Ow," she croaked out.

Though it was a slow, agonizing process, Toph managed to sit up and check herself for serious injuries. It was immediately obvious her right arm was at least severely bruised, if not broken, and her whole right side ached. With her left hand, she quickly checked her head for any bleeding, and sighed with some relief to discover she probably avoided a head injury this time around. _When did I start taking hits like this?_

She frowned. _Every time you go fighting elite squads without backup, Toph._

She felt almost invincible during the war, but then she always had her friends watching her back. Though she dismissed it at the time, she now distinctly recalled the Dai Li landing their gloves on her during the battle under Lake Laogai. Fortunately, someone broke her loose.

Maybe she could take a bunch of dumb showboating wrestlers or overconfident firebenders on completely solo, but highly trained agents? In such numbers? Who know exactly what she was capable of?

How many other times did she have a close call and not even notice? Unless it involved swimming, wooden cages, or dangling from Sokka's hand over a burning forest, most other battles she entered with complete confidence and departed with a victory to justify that confidence.

She sighed. It was still the right thing to do. Kuei could barely defend himself, and she was the best candidate to get the Dai Li away from the group. She just didn't expect to have to limp back to Ba Sing Se in the process. With a wince, she got to her feet and made towards the canyons further south. The boarqupine was still thrashing around the hill; with any luck it would even the odds for her.

* * *

Aang shivered. The air was chill, and though his monk conditioning gave him an above average tolerance to cold, the main part of any airbender's adaptation to survive at high altitudes came from a technique taught to all children at a young age: how to trap a small pocket of air around the body. The air pocket would help insulate from the shoulders down, and the movements necessary were slight and almost passive – one could just walk with the hands swinging a certain way to maintain it.

Unfortunately, though Aang could move all his limbs since the morning, his body still responded as if his blood were syrup, and any efforts to produce even the simplest bending feats were enormously difficult. The Avatar State, too, seemed beyond his ability to summon. Even the glider-staff that the Mechanist constructed for him was gone, likely lost in the ocean. Aang was nearly powerless, and harbored no delusions that he could beat Iioru hand-to-hand. His best advantage at the moment was pretending he was still paralyzed.

His abductor had landed Appa in a cave somewhere; Aang was half-asleep when he noticed the sudden lack of light. After a long time of silence, Aang leaned over the saddle and immediately noted that the cave was stocked with hay and unnaturally smooth, almost as if someone scooped a piece out of the rock with the worlds biggest melon-baller. If this was what Iioru called home, then the Air Nomads had evolved to a level of asceticism even Aang could hardly imagine. _No wonder no one found them._

Scratching vigorously at his arm, Aang realized Iioru was not in the cave anywhere. Momo slept on Appa's head, and Appa himself seemed to be dozing as well. Now was as good a chance as he was likely to get.

"Appa... Appa wake up," Aang whispered.

An annoyed, soft groan.

"Appa, we need to get out of here. I have Avatar stuff to do... we'll come back for Iioru later, since you seem to like him, okay?"

A mooing sigh of acquiescence. Appa shuffled to stand on his six legs. Momo yawned and curled up deeper into the loose fur around Appa's neck.

"Thanks buddy. Yip-"

"Stop."

Aang's shoulders slumped. Iioru was standing at the entrance to the cave, silhouetted by the light behind him.

"Why should I? People are depending on me... I don't have time for this little field trip right now!" Aang shouted.

Iioru chuckled. "Field trip? So you acknowledge then that I mean you no harm?"

Aang frowned and scratched the back of his thigh. "You still poisoned me; I'd say this itching is pretty harmful."

Iioru shrugged. "Necessary, and again I apologize. I would like to mention, however, that I was well aware that the paralysis had worn off, but decided not to administer another dose... as a gesture of good will."

Aang rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks for not poisoning me twice?"

Iioru sighed and rested against the cave wall. "You are making this needlessly difficult. Don't you want to know what happened to your people after Sozin's attack?"

Aang paused for a long moment, the scowl wiped from his face and replaced with a melancholy stare.

"Yes, I do."

"Then let your bison rest and please, come with me."

Though his stride was unsteady at best, Aang slid down from Appa's back and managed to wobble on his own two legs to the mouth of the cave. As his eyes adjusted to the brighter light, he immediately realized that the cave was not Iioru's home at all; it was Appa's.

The first thing he noticed was an airball court. Next he spotted – looking over his left shoulder – some weathered and familiar spires. Iioru had brought him to the Southern Air Temple.

As if reading Aang's mind, from his right side Iioru simply said, "I did not say it was _my _home we were visiting."

Aang turned to him, readying a barrage of questions, but stopped short.

Iioru had changed his attire from Fire Nation guard armor to something much lighter: a neutral gray sleeveless shirt and pants, held together with a wide black sash at the waist. Tucked into the sash, a sword rested in its scabbard, though it was not the same blade issued to him as a soldier; this one was longer and slightly curved. An old, tattered indigo cloak hung from his shoulders, the hood pulled back. His pants were tucked into simple but sturdy leather boots, also stained black. His short hair was gone, shaved to the scalp. His eyes were as dark and colorless as his clothing.

"Orange fall out of fashion over the past hundred years?" Aang asked, tugging at his own citrine robes.

Iioru snorted. "Impractical when one does not wish to be seen."

"So... that's your spy outfit?"

"No..." Iioru raised an eyebrow. "These are ordinary clothes, though perhaps intentionally unassuming. I must admit you manage to ask the questions I'm least expecting to hear."

"Sorry... I just don't know where to start... so are the others here too?"

Iioru shook his head. "No, no airbenders have dwelled in the temples since Sozin's genocide."

"So... where do you live? How many are you? Did you-"

Iioru held up a hand. "Please, Avatar Aang, we have time. I will answer what I can... this way."

They walked in silence a short while, along old stone paths overgrown with vines and dotted with little heaps of snow. The Southern Air Temple always had snow, though in the past it was one of Aang's more entertaining chores to airbend the snow off the walkways... and often straight into other monks.

"My- our people live in a naturally secluded and protected place where few would dare to enter. Our numbers are lesser than any other nation, but greater than any nation believes."

"The other nations all think that number is 'one'."

"Indeed. Before this year it was 'zero'. It's a common assumption that has kept us safe for nearly a century."

"So... a fifth temple then?"

"Not quite. We are not Air Nomads and very few of us would be recognized as spiritually enlightened monks or nuns. What nomads stay hidden in one place? And as you've pointed out, I hardly honor the teachings of your elders."

Aang pondered this a moment. "You seem free to travel around."

"I'm an uncommon exception. A scout."

"So you can see if it's safe to come out of hiding? The war is over-"

"The war is _not_ over!" Iioru interrupted, his voice echoing around the mountaintops as he halted mid-step. "The war is not over so long as the Fire Nation remains intact. You stopped them from assaulting the Earth and Water peoples, so they turn on themselves! They're monsters, Avatar Aang. It's in their very nature to consume and destroy. It's not safe until they are all locked up or _gone_."

Aang frowned and stared at the ground. "I don't believe that. And I don't believe that you represent all that the airbenders have become."

Iioru crossed his arms and leaned over his much shorter kin. "No? You find me wanting? Those that survived the massacres – my generation's grandparents and greater – learned a terrible lesson, and that lesson has not been lost to time: the lesson of the necessity of survival... of self-preservation." He paused. "Do you know any details of Sozin's attack?"

Aang shifted. "Only that he used the comet... and that it was a surprise attack."

"In three out of the four temples, yes," Iioru started, visibly taking deep breaths and clenching his fists before he continued walking. "The Northern and Eastern Temples were firebombed, burned, and razed such that little more than the stone survived. Bison carrying children away were shot down from the sky by firebenders who could suddenly fly faster than any airbender could."

Aang clenched his eyes shut, and resisted the urge to cover his ears. He could imagine the screams of his people, the pained bellows of fallen bison.

"The Western Temple was actually hit before the comet came," Iioru continued. "Being closest to the Fire Nation, it was easy to assault without the other nations noticing. They started massive bonfires in the valley below and smoked out all the women and girls there, then slaughtered them on the open plains. This is from a report I acquired directly from the Fire Nation Royal Archives, I might add, since absolutely no one escaped from that attack. It will be a chilling report to deliver when I return."

Aang felt his cheeks heating up, from grief or rage he wasn't certain. The Western Temple seemed so... untouched. Just old and abandoned. At least until Combustion Man – and later, Azula – showed up.

"And here?" the Avatar choked out.

"The Southern... was hit the hardest. Somehow, the flame-wreathed scum knew you were living here, and Sozin himself led the attack. They were merciless, came in great numbers and used all their infernal machines... but it was also here that they suffered their worst casualties. Their _only_ casualties. Do you know why?"

Aang shook his head. Something was pounding his brain from the inside-out.

"Because it is here that a few of your elders and brothers fought back. Fought with everything they had. Showed the Fire Nation the same mercy they offered us... which was none at all. They could not have won, but they gave the Fire Nation pause. It took a lightning strike from Sozin himself to bring down Elder Monk Gyatso."

Aang sunk to his knees as he realized Iioru had guided him back to the now destroyed building where Gyatso had made his last stand. He had given his beloved mentor and guardian a proper burial back when he had been here with Katara and Sokka, but the heap of skeletons and Fire Nation armor still remained. At the time, he could not even bear to acknowledge the bodies. He still could not.

Aang felt a hand on his shoulder. "It is a terrible thing to consider, but also know this: there were more initial survivors from this temple than any other. What then, is the sanctity of life, but to take life from those who sow death?"

Aang heard Iioru draw his blade. "In times of dire need, we adapt or perish. We turn our art towards weapons of war, and our music to a song of vengeance. What happened to our people must never happen again."

The Avatar's ears rang with echoes that sounded at once like the clipped screech of a predatory bird and the hum of wind in a narrow valley . His eyes tracked a sharp disturbance of air ripple along the ruined stone floor and cleave a red tinted chest-plate in two. He turned warily towards Iioru, and then his sword, which was dotted with small, regularly spaced holes. The blade whistled slightly as the swordsman returned the weapon to its sheath, and Iioru's eyes remained fixed on the split piece of armor.

* * *

"You're certain this town is just over the next hill?" Azula asked.

"Sure as sugar!"

_What does that even mean?! _"The sun has nearly set. If you are wrong about this hill as you have been for the past three... it will be difficult to make camp in the dark."

"Not so much, hun. Ya can make all the light we need and I'll set everythin' up. If I'm wrong, that is. Which I ain't." Mijo had, of course, been equally certain the previous three times.

"I am not a human lantern. After walking for two whole days, with the promise of many more days to come, I do not have energy to waste with sustained firebending just because you cannot discern one landmark from another!"

Mijo shrugged and continued walking along the path. Clearly this evening was going to be as uncomfortable as the last.

Azula was not a camper, or 'outdoorsy-type', as Mijo called it. Her other nights since escaping Tomo had either involved passing out (and therefore not caring where she slept), finding shelter in empty beach homes, or sleeping in the balloon basket, which at least carried the _illusion_ of a very small room.

Actually trying to sleep on dirt for the first time was not a pleasant experience. She did not have a bedroll or really anything to lay on. She emptied and balled up her pack as a makeshift pillow, and then stayed as close to the campfire as she dared for warmth, trusting her element not to betray her as everything else had. Frequently, some windblown bit of plant matter or an insect looking to make a meal of her blood would wake her. She idly wondered if her brother had fared any better when _he_ was a fugitive.

But it was the dinner conversation beforehand that was truly grating. Mijo liked to talk, and Azula had little to say. Mijo invariably chose the least comfortable topics in order to, Azula assumed, provoke her into participating.

_"Ya know, I'm a tad confused... my uncle says ya done cooked yerself with lightnin'..." Mijo said, waving around the last bite of her crunchy bug._

_ Azula crossed her arms._

_ "...and he said makin' lightnin' is a rare and tough thing..." Mijo continued._

_ "Your point?" Azula spat._

_ "Well... is just... well hun... yer fire is a smidge wimpy for ya to be playin' with thunderin' bolts." Mijo finished, using a tone that was somehow both mocking and carrying an undercurrent of concern._

_ Azula found both tones infuriating. "Is that so? It was stronger when I was defending myself from your uncle. Perhaps you decided to cripple my bending with your water witchery?"_

_ Mijo scowled and stood up sharply. "I'd never do that! I ain't even know how!"_

_ Azula stood on her toes to meet Mijo eye to eye. "Why not? I'm a firebender. I'd expect nothing less. No quarter asked and none expected."_

_ Mijo was still taller and stared her down coolly. "War's over, hun. B'sides, ya ain't much the soldier type to me. In the end, we're all branches of the same Tree."_

_ Azula feigned interest in her fingernails. "You might have thought differently had the Fire Nation any interest in the cesspool you call home. Who told you that garbage anyway? Your uncle?"_

_ "Mmhm." Mijo was audibly grinding her teeth._

_ "Tell me, does he possess a deranged obsession with tea, by any chance?"_

_ Mijo went from annoyed to baffled. "Huh? We don't drink much tea 'round here. Try to keep fires to a minimum on account o' the swamp gas and such. My uncle is fond of wineroot, though that ain't my favorite. Why?"_

_ Swamp gas?_

_ "Never mind. I'm going to sleep."_

And she did, eventually. She woke up with a stiff neck and a sore hip and walked all day with a waterbender savage who just refused to remain silent. Mijo asked personal questions that Azula avoided answering, seeing as she would then have to fabricate an entire background for 'Ilah'. Mijo also gabbed about hair, and suggested Azula's might look nice in beads, an idea the runaway princess crushed immediately. Minutes later, Mijo suggested red beads specifically, as if color was the issue.

At least she didn't make any more comments about her firebending.

_Once we get to the village of Nan Shan, Mijo can get her supplies and find her own way back to that accursed swamp, and I can procure boots, a map, and anything else needed and finally have some quiet!_

"Look! Nan Shan, just like I said," Mijo called over her shoulder.

"Fourth time is the charm, I suppose."

The pair walked down a gently sloping hill towards the modest village. Aside from a bruise-colored tinge to the west, the sun had set completely behind a forest on the other side of the Nan Shan river. A full moon hung low to the north. The river itself ran near the village, and the nearest building – which Azula initially thought was a scout tower – was actually a mill that used the flow of water as a source of power.

Lanterns were lit along what might be considered a main street, though the street was just packed dirt. Open plains, scattered buildings, and the scent of moist soil indicated farmland to the east. The local autumn harvest was likely finished by now.

Within the village proper, there was an open marketplace directly in front of what was likely the mayor's home and office, as well as a large inn and several small taverns. The remainder of the village was, Azula assumed, small homes and shops.

For a small village in the mostly impoverished Southern Earth Kingdom, Nan Shan was remarkably well off. It was somewhat near Omashu, and therefore blessed with a lot of trade traffic, but Azula still found herself surprised that it was more than a shanty-town. Though perhaps she should not be _so _presumptuous; it was rather effortless for earthbenders to keep their buildings in good condition.

"Over here!" Mijo suddenly seemed very excited about something, and Azula frowned once she realized her traveling companion was nearly skipping towards a noisy tavern and not the inn.

"I have no interest in spending the remainder of the evening amongst loud, drunken river people. I've been walking in my bare feet all day and would prefer to rest until tomorrow when I can finally get some decent footwear."

Mijo rolled her eyes. "My, yer such a whiner! I fixed yer blisters, didn't I?"

Azula narrowed her eyes. "Regardless-"

"This is the Earth Kingdom, hun! Bare feet everywhere! Besides, I know the owner, and he has some o' the supplies I need. It'll be quick."

Azula sighed. Mijo was either oblivious or immune to her subtle threats, though it was probably in her own best interests to humor the 'fog witch' anyway. _I'm obviously Fire Nation to anyone who's paying attention. Without Mijo in tow to distract people with her strange swamp clothes and accent..._

And so Azula found herself in yet another environment she did not belong. If her father... hell her _mother_ could see her now – dirty, barefoot, narrowly dodging the groping hands of liquor-addled men – she would have been disowned for the scandal.

_ Not that it matters now._

Mijo nearly charged straight towards the man behind the bar, a middle-aged fellow with a scruffy beard and a receding hairline. He was busily chopping up fruit and mixing it with some liquid that smelled, Azula concluded, not unlike a chemical used to degrease steam engine components.

"Heya, Wuon, long time!"

The man looked up, startled. "Mijo? That you? What... it's been a year hasn't it?"

"Longer, I reckon," she returned with a smile.

A pause. A decidedly awkward one, by Azula's estimation. The tavern owner certainly looked uncomfortable.

"Mijo, your Uncle Huu-"

"Is doin' well, thanks for askin'! Now, I'd like to order somethin'... special. Fer old time's sake."

The older man sighed. "I suppose there's no arguing with you, if you've come this far." He pointed towards the opposite corner of the room. "I haven't kept any in stock for months, but my old suppliers still visit now and again for their regular customers."

Mijo was already moving off towards the dark corner table before Wuon even finished his sentence. He shot Azula a pleading look, to which Azula could only reply with a shrug.

She did not like things that confused her. Still, it was far better than being recognized.

Azula caught up to Mijo, who was already speaking with two tanned and unkempt men wearing beige clothing which appeared to be held together by complex folds and wraps. Despite the tricky method used to hold the cloth to the body, the material was hardly in better condition than rags.

A third person, a boy barely into his teens, leaned his tall and scrawny frame against the wall. His arms were crossed around an odd-looking staff capped in a twist of metal shaped somewhat like a figure-eight. He was dressed in wraps like the older men, though he seemed somewhat less ragged and far cleaner, despite his tangled mop of dark brown hair. A deep frown marked his sun-kissed face and he focused his dark eyes in a glare both at his elders and at Mijo.

"And this is Ilah. She's on a quest to learn how to smile, got anythin' you reckon might help with that?" Mijo asked as Azula entered the periphery of the conversation.

"Excuse me, I'm perfectly capable of-"

"I can't believe you're abusing Fei Hyo's nectar for profit..." the boy said, interrupting Azula with a loud grumble.

"Enough about the desert spirit, boy!" one of the men snapped at the child, "Chief Sha-mo wants you to learn something valuable, like our little trade here. Be silent and pay attention."

"My apologies, ladies," the other man said, baring a crooked grin, "the boy is willful and stays out in the sun too long, if you understand my meaning."

Azula rolled her eyes. "Mijo, purchase whatever supplies you need from these... people... so we can get out of here."

"Right. Two skins, please and thank ya," Mijo said.

"Fifty silver."

Azula grew ever more curious. No healing salve or medicine she was aware of cost nearly so much.

Mijo just laughed, leaning over the table. "Oh, ya'll must think I'm dumb as moss, huh? Five silver, each. Juice is everywhere in the desert."

"True, but this isn't the desert."

"I reckon it's cheaper fer me to rent an ostrich-horse and get it m'self."

"But you want this _now_... I reckon," the first man added with a smile.

"Not fifty silvers worth o' wantin'. I ain't got so much on me." Now Azula noticed Mijo was maneuvering a hand under the the table.

"Fifty is the price... unless..." A heap of water skins behind the desert men twitched.

"Unless?"

"Unless you might have something else you're willing to trade?" the first man suggested.

"You, and your friend there," the second man added.

Azula blanched.

"You had better not be suggesting what I think you're suggesting!" the boy cried out, conveniently in time to disguise the sloshing noise from a pair of now levitating pouches moving towards the nearest window.

"Ghan, I thought I told you to be silent!"

"I reckon I can find a more appealin' price," Mijo said, almost under her breath as she spun towards the exit. Azula, holding her head high lest she be thought a servant, was nonetheless quite happy to follow anyone _out_ of the tavern.

Once outside, Mijo turned wordlessly to walk along the edge of the building, and into a narrow alley between it and an adjacent storage shed. There, resting on the ground below one of the tavern windows, lay two bulging skins of liquid.

"You're stealing those," Azula stated.

Mijo grinned. "Duh. Ya want to offer those slimeballs the price they want? Be my guest, hun."

"These 'supplies' are not medicine," Azula said, ignoring Mijo's baiting statement.

"I reckon it's a matter of how ya look at it."

"What is it, then?"

Mijo paused for moment, her grin weakening slightly. "Juice... from a cactus."

"...what does it do?"

Mijo chuckled. "Makes ya smile, like I said."

Smoke poured from Azula's nostrils. "You dragged me into a seedy tavern to acquire some kind of intoxicating beverage from the desert?!"

"Not so loud-"

"Do you actually need healing supplies at all?"

"I never said I needed supplies just fer healin'."

The smoke stopped, abruptly. "This is where we part ways."

Azula walked out of the alley with quiet dignity, leaving Mijo standing there with a pouch over each shoulder.

She just shook her head. _Not worth creating a scene. A minor annoyance, really, considering all my bigger concerns._ Yet something about the look on Mijo's face... those big, wet eyes...

Azula hardly made it two lanterns down the street before she heard something akin to a squeak behind her. She spun around and saw nothing nearby. Her eyes drilled in the darkness for any sign of movement. Straining her ears, all she could hear was the muffled din coming from within the tavern.

Warily, she continued towards the inn and began to consider if she could afford a room with the money she had remaining. The soft dirt squished between her toes with each step. _Boots are priority... and that had better be merely dirt._

With a grimace, she found a patch of dry grass and dragged her feet against it. _Boots, then food, then perhaps a rinse in the river upstream. Ugh. How do these Earth Kingdom pigs live without regular baths?_

Above the murmurs of the tavern-dwellers, Azula heard a distinct set of sounds: a muffled scream, a masculine grunt, and a slamming noise.

A struggle.

She was not sure what motivated her to immediately move back towards the sound. Curiosity? No, she was pretty sure what was going on, and had no perverse need to witness it. Concern? Hardly. Azula's current concerns included freedom, survival, and anything that could make living as a fugitive less miserable. Boredom? Mai's department. Azula would almost welcome a boring noblewoman's life at this point.

Then what?

She did not arrive at any answer before walking to the source of the disturbance. As she rounded the corner to the alley where she had abandoned Mijo with her ill-gotten gains, she found the swamp girl restrained by one of the desert merchants while the other poured cactus water down her throat.

"You took these, so I guess that's your clever little way of accepting the terms," one of them said.

"Drink up, girl. And hey, where's your friend?" asked the other.

A lance of flame illuminated the dark alley, but a wedge of earth stopped it at the last second. The man who was pouring capped the water skin and dropped it. The other let Mijo slump against the wall of the shed, conscious but clearly dazed.

_Damn, at least one is an earthbender._

"Oh, _there_ she is."

"Told you she was Fire Nation, look at those eyes."

The eyes looked back, pale moonlight casting the pair of orbs in a feline gleam. Azula adjusted her posture and flexed her fingers into claws.

"I have decided that your innuendo is an insult that cannot go unanswered. Enjoy your last moments of life."

Both the men slid their feet and kicked up a torrent of dust. Despite a short fireblast to diffuse the attack, Azula found herself launched out of the alley and back to the main road, spitting grit out of her mouth.

_Correction: sandbenders. Should have known that. Countering techniques? Not much in the archives about this style... the Si Wong isn't exactly a place of strategic importance-_

The two men emerged from the dust cloud and tossed fist-sized rocks at her. Azula rolled away and sprang to her feet, answering with a few quick shots that were hardly threatening even if she managed a hit.

_It's night. I'm a fool._

One of the men laughed. "I don't feel my life is in much danger."

"Like a warm little campfire, she is," the other said, licking his lips.

Something clicked, or twitched. It wasn't a physical movement, but Azula felt like it came from her spine, or the back of her neck.

Anger. Raw, seething anger.

It was familiar, nourishing. At the same time, there was something impeding it. Perhaps her own buried discipline. She pushed it aside. She'd dispatch the both of them with anger. She may have lost drive, but she still had anger. It would suffice.

She took a deep breath, began spooling a large fireball in her hands – and was shocked to see both her targets suddenly knocked aside with a hissing blast of dust. The attack was at least twice as forceful as what she had suffered.

Tracing the disturbance to its source, Azula saw the men's young companion standing in the middle of the road, at full extension, his staff (though it was more like a long mace, in retrospect) reaching far to the side. A trough-sized gouge was torn in the earth in front of him.

"I'm not watching your goods anymore," the boy said. "The only thing less forgivable than theft is... this heinous assault. May the desert swallow you whole."

The men struggled back to their feet. "You defend this firebending wench?!"

"She did not steal, and she acted nobly to defend her friend."

_Mijo is no friend of mine, though she won't be able to hold saving my life over my head any more, so there's that._

"And the thief? Your adherence to the desert law demands she be punished, Ghan."

"Not with what _you_ had in mind. The amount of nectar you forced her to drink is penance enough, I think. If she survives."

The two sandbenders stared at Ghan, who slid into another stance with his staff-mace low and behind him. Then they turned to Azula, who was still holding her breath and therefore still had a very large sphere of fire between her hands. They lowered their guard.

"It is a long way back to the tribe, boy. You will be making it alone. Let's see your desert spirit protect you from that."

The men kept a wary eye on both Ghan and Azula as they skulked back into the tavern. Despite the noise they must have made, no one seemed to notice or care. Azula let out her breath and shook the fire from her hands.

"Are you injured?" asked the boy in his raspy voice.

Azula turned towards the child. He spoke, most of the time, with a wisdom and calm one would expect from the elderly. It was unsettling.

"No," she replied.

He nodded, then as if bound by unspoken agreement, they both walked towards the alley where Mijo was ambushed. They were greeted by the sound of retching and liquid spilling on the ground.

Mijo was doubled over, leaning against the high tavern wall and emptying the contents of her stomach, which was mostly fluid. She looked up at their approach; her eyes were dilated, wild, and unfocused.

"Too much... too much," Mijo mumbled before heaving again.

"I'm shocked she's standing," the boy said.

"What will happen?" Azula asked.

"Strong hallucinations, dehydration, feverish dreams. She needs a bed and lots of water."

Mijo drunkenly waved her hands in the air, calling a mist from the cool autumn night. Between her hands, the small cloud glowed dimly, and then Mijo breathed the whole thing in, placing her hands on her chest and then her stomach. Azula and Ghan stared in fascination as she breathed the plume of fluorescent vapor back out. When Mijo looked at them again, her eyes were still dilated, but less cloudy.

"Too... much. Dang, yer red shirt is bright... ya came back, Ilah."

Azula slowly snapped back to attention, not immediately reacting to her false name. "Yes. I decided their behavior warranted a proper response."

"Right, yeah, that's what ya said-" Mijo heaved again. Azula stepped back.

"A waterbender?" Ghan remarked, staring up at the moon. "So that's how you did it."

Azula growled. "As much as I'm enjoying standing barefoot in an alley reeking of vomit, I wouldn't mind retiring to the inn now. Can you walk?"

"I'll help her," Ghan volunteered.

Azula nodded sharply and walked ahead. Mijo could pay for the room. Dilemma solved.

* * *

"Never thought I'd see this place again so soon," Zuko whispered as he helped secure the last of his diplomatic airboat's mooring ropes. "Are you certain the ship wasn't spotted?"

"Well, we covered all the insignia, painted everything a matte black, and traveled during a cloudy night... you can't get much more invisible than that," Jee replied quietly from a few feet above. Zuko nodded.

Katara made certain the four water skins around her back were secure and full. Drawing water out of the air was well within her means, but slower than an immediately available source. Zuko described Pohuai as having a drainage system and plenty of other water sources throughout, but she wanted to be as prepared as possible. The former Fire Lord was in there, after all.

She glanced towards the stronghold built along the nearby foothills. She could barely see it: just the faintest contours against a dark, cloudy sky. There were no lights at all, but the relative quiet of the surrounding forest betrayed the presence of men. The few stationed here probably sent out discreet patrols regularly.

Such patrols would have a great deal of difficulty spotting them, however. Zuko managed better than simply throwing dark cloaks over their normal clothing for this mission; he ordered completely black suits brought to him. They were made of form-fitting but not constricting cloth, made almost no sound while moving, and even had some vital points protected with hardened leather. Katara's fit surprisingly well, even though it could not have been tailored for her that quickly (never mind the fact that she would sooner swim in ice water than give the Fire Nation military her measurements).

Mai's outfit seemed tighter on her, although that may have been because Katara had never seen her in anything but loose, breezy robes. She looked uncomfortable, but did not complain, as she adjusted her now unconcealed weaponry. Her dart launchers were wrapped around her ankles and wrists like thick bracelets, carefully wrapped in black cloth. Everywhere else: her shins, thighs, waist, chest, arms... covered in belts and bandoliers filled with knives and shurikens of various shapes and sizes, though none of the metal was visible. Katara could not help but stare.

"What?" Mai asked, as she noticed the attention.

Katara blinked. "Nothing... it's just... do you always have that many knives on you?"

Mai smiled slightly. "Sometimes less. I could fit more in my normal clothes, but for some reason Zuko insisted we wear these."

"It's not what you think..." even in the dark, Katara could tell Zuko looked a tad flushed.

"Apparently my own clothes are too noisy," Mai added.

"It must take forever to get undressed – dressed, I mean," Katara said, flinching.

Zuko coughed.

For his part, Zuko's toned frame looked much more at home in the stealthy clothing. His twin broadswords were strapped to his back. Katara tried to imagine the Blue Spirit mask to complete the ensemble, but found herself having difficulty believing it, for some reason. Why such a bizarre choice, when he could have simply wrapped dark cloth around his head? To conceal his eyes?

Two male soldiers joined them in similar outfits. One was a firebender lieutenant named Kahir, the other, Corporal Yedei, an archer. Neither were truly stealth specialists, as the Fire Nation was less inclined towards covert operations, but they were qualified scouts. Captain Jee and the remainder of Zuko's crew and guard would remain with the aircraft until summoned.

The five moved quickly and quietly along the tree-line of the forest neighboring the main road. Every so often, Zuko would call for an abrupt stop to listen for any pursuers, but each time their ears were only graced with the muted chirping of distant insects and the last few frogs of the season. Katara constantly glanced behind them, expecting to see _something_, but they reached the massive metal and stone walls of the fortress unchallenged.

Pohuai used a simple but effective scheme in its construction. There was an outer courtyard and an inner courtyard each encapsulated by high, thick walls and towers. At the back of the base was an inner keep, essentially a large tower, which offered a view of the surrounding area and was presumably where a base commander would direct defenses in case of an open assault.

The hulking front gate was, unsurprisingly, closed. Yedei began tying a rope to one of his arrows, but Katara held up a hand for him and shook her head. Turning towards the wall, she drew up her arms, pulling moisture from the air, the dew on the grass, and the grass itself. Once satisfied that she had enough, she pushed the newly formed glob of water against the wall and spread it into a crude, frozen ladder. Keeping one arm in a sustaining form, she motioned the others on.

Zuko climbed up without hesitation, followed quickly by Mai, who gave Katara the slightest of nods. Was she impressed? Appreciative? She had a hard time distinguishing one of the noblewoman's subtle gestures from another. The movement seemed friendly enough. That was all she could determine for certain.

That and the simple basis of their truce in Ba Sing Se: Mai saved her father and brother's lives, if incidentally, and she kept Zuko from dying by Azula's lightning, even though her presence was arguably what got him hit in the first place. Somehow that worked out to a peaceful clean slate.

Kahir prodded the ice experimentally, fixing Katara with a distrustful glower. "Isn't ice a bit brittle for carrying a man's weight?" he asked in a gruff whisper.

Katara's eyebrow twitched. "Normally, yes. As you can see from my posture, I'm keeping it solid."

Kahir slid a gloved finger against one of the frozen rungs. It caught along the surface a few times.

"It's not slippery?"

Katara's other eyebrow twitched. "It's a film of water on top of ice that makes ice slippery. I'm keeping it – just climb!" she finished with a hiss.

Kahir shrugged and climbed warily. Yedei was next, but all he offered was a smirk. Once they were all at the top of the wall, Zuko beckoned everyone to drop down to a knee.

"Listen," the Fire Lord started in a low voice, "be careful here. My father probably took some of his most dangerous allies here with him. I'm expecting Yu Yan, at the very least, and they're every bit as precise and dangerous as their reputation implies."

"You've seen them in action during your... journeys, Lord Zuko?" Yedei asked.

"Yeah... something like that." Zuko pointed to the top of the center tower. "My father is most likely up there. Let's move."

Katara pulled the ice up from her makeshift ladder and reformed it into a steep slide down the opposite side of the wall. Zuko looked pensive as he rode down the frozen ramp, but she knew it wasn't concern over the stability of her bending structure. His mind was elsewhere.

They moved within shadows, using abandoned carts and crates for cover. Again, their progress was uninhibited. As they reached the second gate, Zuko frowned when he discovered it wide open.

"This is too easy," he whispered, "I wonder if Qin lied..."

"There are people here... somewhere. Moving."

Mai tilted her head and gave Katara a long look.

"People are mostly... water." _And I've learned to bend water I can't see... bend water I should never touch._

If Mai was disturbed by what Katara was insinuating, she did not show it. Though they were shielded from Yue's light, Katara could feel the moon pulling at her. Lifting her.

Zuko took point and led the group into the inner courtyard. Again, a cursory glance would indicate the place was hastily abandoned, but they all remained alert. More forgotten supplies. More overgrowth. A silence that made each muffled step sound like thunder.

The clouds above parted slightly. Moonlight seeped through for the briefest of moments, just long enough for Katara to catch the gleam of an arrowhead. Without hesitation, she flung a curtain of water from the vessels on her back and froze it into a curved shield. Five arrows came to rest within the barrier, almost passing through before Katara could finish the form.

The courtyard erupted in light. Lanterns ignited. Mirrors behind the lanterns focused the light downwards into glaring beams. Fire rained down from the ramparts of the tower and the inner courtyard wall. The fire was accompanied by more arrows.

Katara blocked the arrow volley while Zuko and Kahir warded away the fire. Mai and Yedei used their ranged weapons to try and knock out the blinding lanterns.

"Sewer!" Zuko called out.

Katara seized the water flowing slowly underneath a nearby grate. She called up as much as she could and spun it into a vortex, flinging hail and fog, her friends and allies safely within the eye of the 'storm'. Plenty of water now. Plenty of power.

"I've never seen a waterbender do this before," Kahir said.

"She _did _train the Avatar... uh, Lieutenant, Sir." Yedei added.

"We need to get inside the keep!" Zuko shouted over the deafening rush of whirling liquid.

"Stay close!" Katara responded.

Slowly, keeping the form in motion, she stepped towards the tower keep. The entire courtyard was filled with fog, rendering the blinding ambush not only useless, but almost self-defeating. A lucky arrow might skirt through her technique, and she knew the Yu Yan archers were trying, but it was unlikely to happen, even for them. When her elemental field brushed against stone, she paused.

"I'm going to smash our way in, get ready!"

Katara brought all the surrounding water into an Appa-sized wedge of ice and drove it through the wall. Bits of stone pelted the party, but they followed quickly behind and leapt through the breach. Arrows showered down just behind them. Katara worked to seal the hole with ice and began to refill her water skins.

Kahir whistled. "Damn, we should have just had the waterbender level this place alone."

"She has a name, Lieutenant," Zuko said.

"Um, yes Lord Zuko." The firebender stood rigidly. "No offense was intended, Lady Katara."

Mai waved a hand in front of her face. "Next time, maybe water less... fragrant."

Katara turned to reply but found her arms suddenly grasped by some flying object and her body pinned forcefully to the opposite wall of the hallway. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked up to inspect whatever held her. She was immobilized by... rock gloves? _No..._

Zuko confirmed it for her. "Dai Li?"

Katara heard a series of rapid clicks as Mai fired darts from both the spring-loaded holsters on her wrists. Two men in black and green, capped in wide, conical hats, used portions of the surrounding structure to guard against the projectiles. _They're still working for Azula? They're helping Ozai?_

The pressure on her arms ceased with a metallic chorus as Zuko used his swords to shatter the bonds. The two scouts were shooting fire and arrows over Mai's shoulders to keep the Dai Li from advancing. The ice covering their makeshift entrance began to glow as firebenders outside focused their element to melt through it.

Katara pushed the whole block of ice out into a wave of water to knock over anyone outside, then pulled it back in and washed it down the hall towards the Dai Li, working around the earthbender's defenses and freezing them to the ground. Zuko motioned with his swords. "This way, upstairs!"

Katara took point this time. Drawing the water back out of the skins at her back, she used it to batter aside any soldier that got in her way. Each enemy, all just bodies knocked down as Sokka would clear a path with his machete... except she was holding back from cutting them in half.

Often, any Yu Yan they crossed would fire off at least one shot before Katara could get close enough. _You know something faster. Something stronger._ Fortunately, each time Zuko would incinerate the arrow in midair, or Mai would deflect it with a shuriken. Even Yedei managed to knock one shot astray with one of his own, which he proudly declared as proof that the Yu Yan were overrated.

Over a hallway, up another flight of stairs. The dash was a mad rush and Katara momentarily forgot she had four others along with her. She just felt water everywhere. Water in different forms and shapes. Water coursing wildly through her own veins.

They reached the upper levels of the building. Muffled shouts, groans, and footfalls echoed from far below. The group found themselves in yet another corridor, poorly lit, but otherwise the same as the many dozens of others they had stormed through. For the moment, it was relatively quiet, aside from their own labored breathing. Katara's head spun. _So much energy, so much... movement._

"We're on... the same level as... the main hall and balcony–" Zuko started.

Two bodies dropped from the ceiling. One landed in front of Kahir and jabbed at his stomach and neck. The other in front of Zuko, who only got in two strikes before Mai stuck his thigh with a blade, and Yedei put an arrow in his shoulder. Zuko brought the flat end of one broadsword against the assailant's head. Katara recovered and froze the woman who attacked Kahir into the wall.

"Can't... move," Kahir groaned from the floor.

"And I can't firebend," Zuko said, little sparks sputtering from his hands. "Dim Mak specialists, like Ty Lee."

Katara stiffened. "Think there are more?"

Zuko shrugged. "Dim Mak users are uncommon. It takes a lot of time to learn and most non-benders would rather have something sharp in their hands."

"Ty Lee doesn't strike me as someone with that much patience."

"Ty Lee is more complex than most people give her credit for," Mai said evenly.

"I just meant –"

"Go on, Lord Zuko, we'll be fine," Yedei said, knocking his last arrow and standing over his fallen comrade.

Zuko shook his head slightly, then nodded. He made for the main hall, the girls in tow. When they reached a heavy wooden door, Zuko hastily kicked it open.

The commander's chamber was much brighter than the surrounding corridors. Despite being called a hall, it was probably the largest room in the keep. Shaped roughly into a triangle, one far corner opened up into the balcony, while the another contained a slightly raised dais, flanked by burning braziers. The whole room smelled of oil and ash, and red draperies sporting the Fire Nation insignia hung from each wall. The center of the triad was ringed with a few pillars, though Katara could not determine if they were part of the structure or merely decorative. In fact, the ceiling was so high and dark she could not determine if the pillars even reached it.

Movement. Upon the dais sat former Fire Lord Ozai, flanked by General Shinu on one side and what appeared to be an irregular heap of cloth on the other. Zuko walked up with his dao blades drawn until he was only a few yards from his father.

"Zuko... so you've come for me personally. No speech about my handling being the Avatar's destiny this time?" Ozai said with a mocking grin. The man rose, adjusting the shoulders on his suit of armor. His attire was similar to Shinu's, but it still sported a few gold embellishments to denote his station.

"No, this isn't about the Avatar restoring balance. This is about apprehending a fugitive war criminal. That's my responsibility," Zuko replied.

Ozai barked out a hideous laugh that sent Katara's blood to a boil. She never saw the man in person before. She instantly hated him.

"War criminal? Is that so? Well, not unexpected... the victor does write the law."

"You're not going to surrender, are you," Zuko stated.

"I may have made a mistake, my son."

Zuko nearly dropped his swords. Katara was certain she even heard Mai gasp.

"Yes, a mistake in not realizing where the true strength of my progeny rested. Azula was a powerful bender, but alas, her mind... whereas you, Zuko, grew into not only a powerful master of fire, but a skilled swordsman, cunning enough to usurp control of the Fire Nation–"

"Save it. I will trust nothing you say, ever again."

Ozai shrugged. "As you wish."

Shinu opened up with a wave of fire. The three jumped apart to avoid the burn. Archers and soldiers poured in from the shattered door, and a few Dai Li agents appeared from the balcony. Katara slid behind a pillar and began to channel mist through the room. She looked at Mai, who was taking cover behind another pillar with Zuko, and noted her holsters were mostly empty.

Ozai laughed again. "Where's your fire, Zuko? Run into a little trouble?"

"It's not gone forever!" Zuko shot back as he cut a stone fist in half. Ozai immediately stopped laughing. Falling back to the high seat behind Shinu's attacks, he pulled the nearby cloth away to reveal a large pile of bamboo containers. Containers with strings poking out.

Ozai picked one of the blasting jelly grenades up. "The best leaders know how to improvise, boy," he muttered as he yanked the flint igniter cap off and threw the explosive towards the center of the room.

The laughter picked up again right as the device exploded. Katara managed to suppress the blast enough with the surrounding vapors, but several more sparking explosives were rolling around the room already. Zuko batted one away with his sword. Katara doused another two. Mai cut the fuse of another. Many others shook the room with thunder and burned the mist away. She heard Shinu scream in agony. Ozai was still laughing.

_Now I know where the crazy came from._

Katara moved her hands, intent on gathering more airborne moisture. They were barely staying clear of the blasts, and any moment could be vulnerable to the flanking Dai Li or the other soldiers. Only Ozai's wild throwing was holding them back.

"Katara! I can't signal Jee!" Zuko called out. He said nothing else. His expression told her everything else she needed to know.

_Why not. These are people who want to rekindle a war that has raged for over a hundred years. They want to undo everything we fought for. They don't deserve mercy. Especially not that maniac._

There was plenty of water in the room. No need to call any more from the air. She dropped the misty bulb around her hands and shifted into a different stance: hands like claws, palms down.

The Dai Li creeping along the near wall were first. She took one and used his body as a blunt instrument against the other.

The Yu Yan were second. Adjusting their precision shots at the last moment with a quick jerk to either side caused them to fire into each other or at Ozai. Zuko took the opportunity to move against his father while Mai used the last of her darts and knives to help bring down the other archers and benders trying to enter the room.

Katara moved from cover. She had several men under her control, could hear their joints popping. She had a swordsman throw his blade away. She forced a firebender to punch himself in the face. She twisted and broke the fingers of an archer trying to knock another arrow.

They were terrified. Somehow, their eyes remained their own, and they all stared at her in abject horror. They knew it was her.

_Good._

She pushed them all into the hallway,_ hard_.

Zuko was dueling with his father, who almost looked ridiculous swinging a huge warped two-handed sword back and forth. Though Ozai was physically quite strong and Zuko backpedaled from each strike he blocked, it was not even a contest: Zuko parried the heavy-handed attacks and waited for an opening. When Ozai overreached, Zuko stepped forward and disarmed him with a quick pommel smash to his wrists. The battle was over. Ozai immediately went rigid and fell awkwardly to his knees.

"I'll hold him," Katara said.

Zuko stared for a moment but nodded. "I think I can use one of those bombs to signal Jee from the balcony like we planned."

Then it was just Katara and Ozai. In dread silence, for a little while.

"How... how are you doing this?" Ozai finally asked.

"Shut up."

"You... you're a demon..."

"Be _quiet._"

"Possession... twisting of spirits... you're just like the Avatar. An unnatural abomination."

"I said _shut up!_"

She squeezed his throat, from ten feet away. Ozai choked and his arms twitched as he instinctively tried to reach for his own neck. Katara did not allow him even that. She could feel each frantic beat through his arteries, each constricted, labored pulse. _Aang took his bending away; he just finds new weapons. We put him in prison; his fanatic supporters break him out. He's too dangerous... too dangerous to leave alive._

"Katara... what are you doing?" It was Mai. The blasé tone was there, but even she could read the fear in it.

"What... should have been done before."

Mai stepped in front of her. "That is not your decision to make."

Katara's nostrils flared along with her eyes. "You think we should show him mercy? Again?! After all this?!"

"You think I'm saying this for Ozai's sake?" Mai sighed. "Whatever, do what you think is right."

A small explosion sounded from outside. Katara tensed her fingers, then released Ozai with a rough push to the ground. He rolled to his side and gasped for air.

Zuko walked back in and studied his father's prone and purplish body as the man fought to get his breath back. "What-"

Katara walked past him, avoiding his eyes, and strode out to the balcony. "I just need some air, Zuko."

* * *

"Still you resist, old man?"

"You expect me to fall to your... parlor tricks?"

"Yes, I do. You've caused a lot of trouble for me and my city, and I intend to collect on the debt."

"It's not your city."

"We shall see."

The 'Joo Dee' assisted in setting up the revolving lantern. The same 'Joo Dee' who had been present when he was captured. Another agent began the same chant he had heard... he lost count of how many times he had heard it. Even when he did not hear it, he _heard_ it, and its echo threatened to smother any of his other thoughts.But for Zuko's – and perhaps the world's – sake, he _had_ to remember.


	18. The Pursuit

Chapter 18: The Pursuit

Nan Shan stood utterly silent in the morning. Despite being a town surrounded by forest and edging a river, Azula heard not a single bird call nor the rustle of any other animal. No morning bells and no merchants setting up early in a favorite location. Even the dampened murmur of the Nan Shan river itself was barely audible, as was the mill operating along its banks. _The Earth Kingdom is sluggish and lazy. Even a mere colony of the Fire Nation would be bustling with activity by now._

Azula knew the sun was over the horizon, though the rocky foothills around Nan Shan had not yet allowed any direct light into the village. In contrast to the villagers apparently sleeping the waking hours away, Azula could swear the earth itself was rousing from its slumber: a deep, guttural timbre that she could not be entirely certain was real.

Perhaps that was what wind sounded like when it rolled over the mountains. Perhaps it was something one could only hear when the rest of the world around you still slept.

She withdrew from her musings at the window, once again aware of Mijo's light breathing as the older girl slept peacefully on a simple straw mattress. A thin stream of drool trickled from the slight smile of her lips. Azula grimaced.

Despite having her own bed to sleep on for the first time in many days, Azula did not feel particularly well-rested. Her injuries from the previous night's skirmish were merely bruises, and she could ignore that discomfort, but her temporary roommate was another story entirely. With a sigh, she reached behind her neck and tried to work some of the soreness from her muscles.

Mijo took in a slightly greater breath and one of her cerulean eyes opened halfway to meet Azula's.

"Yer awake already?" Mijo croaked out, spittle still on the edge of her mouth.

"Firebenders rise with the sun. You know this."

The single eye tracked lazily to the window. "Ain't see no sun."

"I assure you, it is there."

The other eye opened. "Ya sound grouchy. Think ya need more sleep."

Azula growled. "I would have had plenty of rest had you not been rambling on the entire night about all the non-existent things you were seeing."

"I was sharin' the fun."

Silence.

Mijo closed her eyes with a blissful yawn.

Azula raised the temperature of the room a degree or two.

"Sharing the fun?" Azula hissed. Mijo nearly rolled onto the floor, both eyes now wide open and arms hastily wiping the dribble from her face. "I assure you there is _nothing_ fun about hallucinations."

Azula turned away to hide her expression. _Did I just admit-_

"Aw, one li'l trick o' the eyes in the swamp and yer stuck in a tizzy over it?"

Azula glared at Mijo, but as usual there was no determinable effect. "I did not find the experience amusing. And last night I just wanted to sleep, not hear about how that ratty desert child's staff looked like a cobra-newt or that the ceiling was made of foamed sugar."

Mijo rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, we're even then. I didn't sleep a wink the night before on account o' yer snorin'."

"What?" Azula spat, shooting a couple sparks from her mouth as she turned to face Mijo. "I do _not_ snore!"

Mijo chuckled. "If ya say so, hun."

Azula ignored her and began stuffing her meager belongings into her traveling pack, while Mijo simply watched her with a bemused smile. It was still quiet outside, aside from the vague sense that the earth was humming with the waking dawn, but Azula was more than prepared to pound down the doors of every shop she needed goods from and move on.

"Where ya goin'?" Mijo eventually asked, still smirking slightly.

"North, same as before."

The smile faded. "So ya just takin' off then?"

"Yes, and what is it to you?" Azula secured her pack over her shoulder. "We traveled together as a matter of convenience, so I could get back to what this dirt country considers civilization and so you apparently could acquire some toxic desert chemical. I imagine you'll be heading back to the swamp now."

Now Mijo's lips turned to a frown. "Ya saved ma life, Ilah. Or at least ma dignity."

"And so we're even on all accounts. Now-"

"No, we ain't."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"We ain't even. Savin' ya in the swamp was just... exhaustin' fer me. Yer comin' and tusslin' with the sandbenders was a real risk. I owe _you_."

Azula just stared at Mijo. _I didn't do it for you, I don't even know what I was thinking._ Mijo returned the stare with her earnest, blue-green eyes.

"So... what do you intend to do about this debt? Follow me all the way to the colonies, healing blisters all the while?" Azula finally asked.

"If that's what it takes," Mijo replied, immediately.

Azula blinked. "You're serious."

"Sure as sugar, hun. Uncle Huu... expects me to be away for a while."

Azula tapped her fingers against her temple. _Well, certainly a waterbender with healing capabilities is a powerful asset, even if she is incredibly annoying. A net gain, I suppose._ "Very well, gather your articles then."

Mijo had even less to carry than Azula, but made a show of stuffing her supplies and grotesque snacks into a pouch regardless, as if the activity was a miserable chore. After she was dressed and packed, the waterbender rubbed at her forehead and winced, then relaxed as a slight glowing vapor wafted off her head and between her fingers. Azula hurried Mijo along, fighting the urge to drag her into the hall. _Ugh, she's even more of a burden in the morning than Ty Lee._

Two steps out and Azula's foot caught on a cloth heap bundled against the wall.

"Ow!" cried the cloth-swaddled lump, which quickly rose to stand as a lean boy.

"Oh, it's you," Azula dead-panned.

"Why did you kick me?"

"She ain't kickin' ya, hun. Reckon it was an accident," Mijo said.

The boy softened slightly. "I am glad to see you are well, miss."

Mijo smiled. "Well I'll be, a real gentleman. What was your name, hun?"

"Ghan."

"Well howdy, Ghan. I'm Mimiluu Jo, but please call me Mijo. And this here is Ilah."

"What were you doing sleeping in the hallway?" Azula asked irritably as she examined her stubbed toe.

"What? I was in a meditative trance, not sleeping." His face flushed. "I was guarding the door, of course."

"And an exemplary job you were doing, too," Azula said.

Ghan glared at her, then snatched his staff off the floor. "It seems Fei Hyo has seen fit to curse me with female ingrates lately," he mumbled to himself.

"Oh, pardon me," Azula drawled in a saccharine tone, "thank you for occupying this space in the hall. I'm sure your sleeping form and funny little stick kept all the burglars away."

Mijo placed her hands on her hips. "Ilah, stop bein' so mean, he's only a boy."

"And this is not a 'funny little stick'!" Ghan added in a raspy shout. "It's a sacred ankh of the sand-"

Azula waved her hand. "Yes, yes. Sacred stick-"

"Do not mock me! I intervened against my own kin on your behalf! Have you any idea what that means?"

"Indeed," Azula said, examining her decidedly chipped nails. "I'm still in the process of determining your motivation for defending us."

Azula felt Mijo's hand on her shoulder. "Thems men were pigs, Ilah. He done right by us. It's what any decent folk oughta do."

Mijo released Azula's tensed shoulder and walked up to bow politely to Ghan. "Thank ya, Ghan."

"Beacon guide you," Ghan replied with a bow of his own, his anger fading away as quickly as it appeared. "For a thief, you are exceptionally polite."

Mijo smiled weakly. "I ain't a thief... after last night I reckon that was the first and last time."

"Good." Ghan nodded. "You should follow your friend's example. For all her... rudeness, her actions speak of true virtue."

Azula almost burst out laughing. _True virtue?_ _Does no one understand that – barring insanity – every action a creature takes is only for its own benefit?_

"So... where will ya go, hun?" Mijo asked.

Ghan shook his head. "I do not know. I have sinned by attacking my tribesmen, for only the magi are ordained by the desert to mete out justice amongst our own. But there are even fewer magi than priests left..."

The earth was definitely rumbling now; the wooden structure of the inn responded with creaks and groans. Perhaps the humming she felt earlier was actually some earthbenders making a big scene of approaching the village.

"What is that noise?" Ghan asked.

"Yer the earthbender... ain't this kinda thing normal?" Mijo responded.

"I wouldn't know. I've never left the desert before. Sandbenders are generally... quieter."

Azula left Mijo and Ghan in the hallway and quickly descended to the bottom floor of the inn. At this hour only the owner was up, a perplexed look on his face as he peered out the window. Certainly the inn was not the only structure shaking in town; all the villagers would be quite awake soon enough.

As the rumbling intensified, Azula realized that her initial hypothesis of obnoxious earthbenders was quite off the mark. A few weeks around such a raucous clamor had made her quite familiar with its source. She stepped out of the inn and was not surprised to see an ironclad transport train oozing steam from just outside the town proper.

Mijo stumbled out behind her, blinking her eyes at the rays of light now peeking over the low mountains to the east.

"What the heck is that thing?" she asked.

"The big metal wagon," Azula replied.

"Friends o' yours?"

"Unlikely."

Azula casually walked into an alley beside the inn, Mijo in tow, as the vehicle came to a hissing stop just beside the town's mill, still a few hundred paces away. A metal door on the second car slid open, and seven armored soldiers gracefully disembarked.

Armored soldiers wearing green, black, and gold. Armored soldiers with white and red face paint.

Azula concealed herself around the corner of the building and leaned against the wall, banging the back of her head against it once in frustration.

"Who is it?" Mijo asked, still looking around the corner.

Azula pulled her into the alley. "Mercenaries. Hired by my brother, no doubt."

Mijo whistled lightly. "Yer folks must be loaded!"

Azula just rolled her eyes.

"Are you two in trouble again, _already_?"

The girls both looked up to see Ghan's tanned face poking out of a window just over their heads. Mijo immediately shook her head and jerked her thumb towards Azula.

"Ilah's run away from home. Her bro sent a whole squad o' mercs after her."

Ghan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"It's a long story I do not have the time or patience to tell," Azula said, as she looked around the corner again. "Suffice to say my living conditions were unacceptable, so I left. My brother takes exception to that."

"And these mercenaries?"

"Here to either kill me or throw me in a dungeon back in the Fire Nation, I imagine."

Ghan frowned. "Simply for running away?"

"You don't know much about the Fire Nation, do you?" Azula responded, crouching low enough for a few weeds to tickle her nose as she continued to watch the Kyoshi Warriors fan out and begin knocking on doors.

"I suppose not..." Ghan crawled out through the window and landed between the two women. "I will help you escape, but in return you will find the time to tell me your story."

"As you wish," Azula replied evenly, only half paying attention. _One minute with Ty Lee's tendency to babble during a fight and this sand rat will be another enemy... probably the swamp girl too. Think! How can I make this an advantage?_

"And _you_ must pay a penance for your thievery." Ghan added, addressing Mijo.

"Me? Ain't this hangover enough?" Mijo whined.

"No, I do not believe it is... when you can just heal it away." Ghan crossed his arms.

"Fine, whatever! Ya better be extra helpful then!"

"Both of you be quiet!" Azula snapped. "Follow me to the river, I have an idea."

* * *

Ty Lee tried to stifle a yawn, but it was so _early,_ and really, had not she left the whole horrid routine of 'rising with the sun' back at the Fire Nation? She stole a glance at her current partner, Yumi, and noted her compatriot was faring little better in the dawning hours. While Ty Lee walked with an uncharacteristic slouch, Yumi still somehow forced herself into the graceful stride of a proper lady. Even if that proper lady was wearing splint mail.

"All this driving around stinks," Ty Lee mumbled.

"It's playing havoc with my hair," Yumi responded, poking at the immaculate bun atop her head.

Ty Lee giggled. "Your hair is perfect, Yumi. As usual."

The other warrior shrugged. "Besides, you've been on those things before. Aren't you used to it?"

"Azula actually let us sleep more, if you can believe that," the acrobat replied, then immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Yumi waved it off. "Don't be so paranoid, Ty Lee. We're way past that point, right?"

She nodded with a smile.

While Yumi and Ty Lee were assigned the dubious honor of waking up residents at the crack of dawn, Suki and Kanima paired up to inspect the inn while Osha and Hei-lin checked the nearest tavern. Iru had remained with the train to guard their equipment.

The town was quiet. Ty Lee imagined that would soon be replaced with annoyed locals yelling at her for waking them up.

"Oh great, morning fog is rolling in from the river. Now we can add bedraggling dampness to the pleasantries of this place," Yumi said.

Ty Lee was tempted, as always, to ask why Yumi was a fighter – a typically dirty business – when she was so obsessed with being perfectly tidy. But then Yumi was not the only girl in the group who seemed at odds with their profession, so she left it alone. Plus, Ty Lee occasionally saw strands of red in the girl's aura that hinted at – if Ty Lee interpreted correctly – a desire to control everything around her, often by force. She was a little like Azula in that regard.

She turned her attention to the west. Sure enough, a thick blanket of fog was rising up from the water, wafting over the banks. But there was something odd about it. It was too dense, and too concentrated in one spot.

"That fog seems... unnatural," Yumi said, voicing Ty Lee's thoughts.

"Waterbender?" Ty Lee asked.

"Or a firebender steaming the river."

The two girls quietly jogged over to the riverbank, swiftly finding themselves enveloped in mist and barely even able to see each other from mere feet away. Yumi quickly made a few hand gestures in front of Ty Lee's face: _stop, wait, listen._

It was the faintest sound, but every now and then there was a disturbed stone, a mumble, or a slight splash. And it was getting closer.

It stopped.

Moments later, a rush of movement and Ty Lee suddenly found herself on her back, spitting out mud.

"Keep moving!" a distinct and dreadfully familiar voice called out.

_Azula!_ She pushed herself into a handstand and then on to her feet. Yumi was already whistling sharply to signal the other girls. A second spray of mud knocked the pristine warrior over.

"Oh, I'm going to _murder_ whoever just did that!" Yumi cried out as she rolled back to her feet.

"A woman?" A new voice asked from elsewhere in the shroud. It was young and raspy, not unlike a masculine version of Mai's voice.

Ty Lee concentrated in the direction of the sound. _If he's close enough..._

Yumi whipped out her fans and began swirling the surrounding vapor away. It was not terribly effective, but Ty Lee could tell her friend was just a little bit ticked.

_There._ A bright – almost washed out – yellow-green aura. Traces of blue. Ty Lee did not have the time to try to work out the shade's meaning.

"A woman whose hair you just soiled with mud, yes!" Yumi snarled, dropping to a low stance and circling approximately left of the boy.

"Normally it is forbidden to attack a life-bringer... but since you are evidently also a life-taker..."

A third chunky glob of mud, this one mixed with stones. Yumi rolled away from it. Ty Lee closed the distance and approached the boy from behind, noting only his shabby attire before striking first to disable his bending, then to paralyze his legs. The earthbender collapsed with a gasp, along with the clatter of some kind of staff he was carrying.

"Another woman?" he asked, staring up at Ty Lee from the ground.

"We're all girls, silly," Ty Lee replied with a wink.

"Is it just me, or is it getting really cold all the sudden?" Yumi asked, carefully making her way over to the downed boy.

Ty Lee turned towards her partner. "Now that you mention-"

The fog rapidly condensed and froze around the girls. It was _way _worse than being trapped in earth, Ty Lee decided. The ice encased her body from the neck down, and it was just thick enough to impede her movement. Yumi was similarly immobilized.

With the now clear air, Ty Lee spotted a tall woman sprinting over from the edge of the river, dressed in a bizarre combination of reptilian leather, plants, and beads.

"Sorry that took so long, Ghan," she said in a drawling accent. "I ain't all that good at the fightin' forms, 'specially ice."

"I... thought you both had left me behind," Ghan muttered.

"Now why would I go and do a nasty thing like that?"

"Um, excuse me, could you un-freeze us, please?" Ty Lee asked between chattering teeth, hoping the older girl's soft, pinkish-purple aura was a good sign.

The strange woman turned her head, beaded strands of hair whipping around her face. "Ummm... that seems... I reckon I'd regret it, hun. Yer after someone I owe a favor to. A big favor."

"Huh?" Ty Lee and Yumi queried at once.

"Can you undo whatever she did to me, Mijo?"

Mijo shrugged. "Maybe. Breathe this."

The waterbender stole some moisture from Ty Lee's icy prison and swirled it into an oddly glowing vapor. The earthbender breathed it in, and the pale girl furrowed her brow in concentration.

"Kinda like... a cave-in. In yer spirit paths. Try moving."

To Ty Lee's shock, the boy, Ghan, was already able to get to his feet. No one knew how to undo Dim Mak paralysis except someone trained in Dim Mak, and those secrets were carefully guarded, even by Ty Lee. Did this strange, barefoot woman just figure it out by accident in a matter of seconds?

"Hm. I still cannot bend," the boy said, gesturing with his hands, "but thank you."

_Not all of it then... but still. Amazing!_

"Grab yer... 'yonk'... or whatever it's called... and let's go."

Ty Lee recovered from her daze to observe her frozen partner, who was clearly fighting the urge to scream at the two retreating strangers. After a moment, Yumi seemed to relax and locked eyes with Ty Lee.

"I can't believe you tried asking sweetly for that woman to let us go."

Ty Lee tried to shrug, but found the movement impossible. "Hey, it was worth a shot."

* * *

She flipped from the top of the vehicle, and her bare foot made contact with a painted face, which in turn pushed the warrior's head into the steel frame of the train car door. The armored girl collapsed to the grass. The exchange lasted hardly more than a second, and was nearly soundless.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to go.

Instead, the warrior somehow heard her creeping along the steel roof, and Azula flipped down to meet the business end of a drawn katana. Azula managed to twist away from the thrust, but not without suffering a flesh wound to the outside of her thigh.

Stepping to the side, she punched forward and blasted the girl in the chest with a sheet of flame, knocking her prone. The armor protected her from the burn, but her head struck the edge of a footlocker and she crumpled onto the metal floor of the car. The exchange lasted several seconds, and was quite loud. She might as well have set off fireworks.

But at least her firebending was improving, for whatever reason. It surprised her opponent as much as it surprised her.

Azula dragged the unconscious body out of the train and carelessly tossed her outside. Turning on her good leg, she moved towards the engine car and took a quick glance at the controls. A deep breath and the furnace was fed with as much heat from her hands as she could manage.

Azula returned to the middle car and peeked out the open door. Mijo and Ghan were sprinting towards her. _Posture..._ _not hostile? At least Mijo is not..._

"We could have used your help back there," Ghan said, scowling.

"I _am_ helping, by securing our escape," Azula said. "Besides, I told you to keep moving. Why didn't you listen?"

"We were about to be ambushed..."

"What happened here?" Mijo asked, staring at the haphazardly positioned body on the ground.

"There was a guard," Azula stated.

"Another girl..." Ghan said, with a frown.

"Ya didn't..." Mijo started.

"No, she's alive, though the thought crossed my mind." _No it didn't, actually. _"Get on board, I need someone to operate the controls while I provide fuel to the engine."

Mijo kneeled down and placed a misty, glowing hand on the back of the fallen warrior's head, which Azula now noted was bleeding. Before she could object to the delay, Ghan's face was suddenly thrust inches from hers, his brow pinched together under his unruly hair.

"You're not planning on stealing this... device... are you?" he asked.

"No. I'm reclaiming it. This vehicle belongs to me," Azula replied evenly.

Ghan leveled a skeptical frown.

"How else would I know precisely how to operate it? My brother has apparently seen fit to use my own possessions in his mad effort to end me."

Ghan nodded slightly, but the frown remained.

"Yer family is definitely loaded," Mijo commented as she boarded the tank-train, apparently already finished with healing the unconscious Kyoshi girl.

"Mijo, I need you in the engine car with me. Ghan, that crank there is connected to a chain that will close the car door. Let's move."

"Ilah, yer leg..." Mijo said.

"Later. There are four more warriors in town that will be here any second."

Azula limped back to the engine car and Mijo followed, the tall girl needing to duck slightly to get through the portal. Ghan grumbled in tune with creaking metal as he closed the doors.

* * *

"Sokka, I swear I just saw something in the trees."

"We're in the woods, Ren, there are lots of critters that like climbing trees."

"Person-sized critters?"

"Probably a hog-monkey."

"Forgive me, tribal hunter, for my ignorance of all things made of meat, but do hog-monkeys stalk people mounted on ostrich-horses or bears?"

"Now you're just being paranoid."

Ren pouted. "It is not paranoia to be wary of those... _agents_."

Sokka looked up at the trees with a pensive frown. "Dai Li wouldn't sneak in the trees. They'd be too far from their element."

"Yes, it is more likely they would choose to charge right at us along the ground, forgoing stealth entirely," Kuei chimed in. "After all, they know that we know they are after us, and without Toph we would be hard-pressed to escape a second time."

Sokka winced.

"Thanks, your highness, that makes me feel so much better," Ren said, hunching over to fiddle with the reins of his long-legged conveyance.

"Sorry," Kuei replied.

Bosco groaned, as if to echo the middle-aged monarch.

"We're almost out of the forest anyway," Sokka said. "If we're being followed, they'll lose their cover in the open plains outside Ba Sing Se."

"So would we. There will be nothing but rocks and dirt. And I'm out of bolts, remember?"

"A good time to put all that sword training I've been giving you to good use."

"How can you be so flippant about this?"

"Because you're stealing my panicky ranting thing."

Ren opened his mouth, but then shook his head and closed it with a wry grin. The colonial did not remove his eyes from the gradually thinning boughs above them, however.

Sokka was not worried about an ambush from above. Kuei was right, if they were being followed (and he was pretty certain they were) then the attack would probably come when they had nothing unbendable to hide behind. It was better to save his worrying for when they were out in the open, in broad daylight.

His plan was to conserve energy for now and then urge their animals into a mad dash for the home stretch. With any luck, a Ba Sing Se sentry would spot them from the wall before they were overtaken. Or perhaps Toph would be waiting for them with a smirk that said 'what took you so long?'.

He kept Bosco and the ostrich-horses at a steady but brisk pace for the next hour, breaking only a moment to refill their canteens from a small spring. Ren eventually ceased his vigil of the treetops and took instead to tentatively scanning the ground behind them. Sokka was certain he would need a healer for his neck by the time the journey was finished.

It was at the edge of the forest, when the trees were spread apart to only a few every hundred yards and scraggly underbrush dotted the landscape, that Sokka called for a stop.

"What is it?" Kuei asked, as Sokka dismounted.

"Earth has been disturbed here, just off the road," Sokka said, pointing at a mound of churned dirt. "And recently. Any small settlements nearby?"

"None that I am aware of."

"Me either," Ren added, anticipating Sokka's follow-up. "The plains outside the outer walls of the city became suitable only as a battlefield during the war. No civilians would build there."

Sokka gazed eastward. The terrain was rocky and composed of rolling hills, a few high enough that he could only catch small bits of the giant, dusty outer wall of Ba Sing Se. Some of the nearby stones were fragments of enormous earthen replicas of Earth Kingdom coins, others just looked like plain old rocks. Directly in front of the three, the dirt was moist and loose.

"Hmm," was all Sokka could say.

"Dai Li trap?" Ren asked.

"I'm still with the King, they'd probably just go with the direct approach. And it would have taken some effort to circle all the way in front of us."

"Badger-mole?" Kuei suggested.

"Too small. Maybe a baby?"

The earth shook slightly. Sokka could swear he heard voices shouting underground.

"Kuei, could you try clearing this dirt away?"

"I can certainly try."

The royal's form was stiff and sloppy, but nonetheless effective. After a few shoving motions, Kuei cleared away what appeared to be the entrance to some kind of tunnel. Sokka could hear the voices much more clearly now.

"Careful, you amateur! We must borrow to the wall discreetly, without quaking the earth in an acre-wide radius."

"Hey, who you callin' a...? I've been earthbending since before you were born!"

"And just now nearly caused a cave-in. Do try to be more precise. None of the others seem to be having a problem."

"Half the others are firebenders, not doing any work."

"They're providing light."

"Burning up our air."

"They'll be useful once we breach the outer wall, believe me. Now I must see to the entrance, I believe you've accidentally opened it..."

The earth exploded around Sokka, Kuei, Ren, and their animals, sending them stunned and reeling to their backs.

"... in front of a bunch of nosy travelers."

The man that had erupted from the ground held himself in a manner reminiscent of nobility, but his scruffy face and crooked sneer labeled him as something more crude. As Sokka and Ren scrambled to their feet and drew their blades, and Kuei dropped into a basic earthbending stance, the man snapped his fingers and yelled down the hole.

"Armed travelers! Everyone get up here quickly and help me _dispatch_ them!"

Sokka did not like the way he said 'dispatch'. He made it sound very wet and messy.

"How are Bosco and the big bird-ponies?" Sokka asked aloud, looking for where their rides may have landed.

"Stunned and running in panicked circles, respectively!" Kuei shouted from a few paces back.

"I can hardly blame them," Ren muttered from somewhere to Sokka's left, as three more earthbenders in varying shades of green and brown popped up from the subterranean passage. Behind them, four pale-skinned men in reds and browns and one woman.

_Okay... so it's three to one odds, and they're all probably benders. And we just ran into them by accident? Curse you universe._

"Kuei, defense! Ren, get the animals!" Sokka shouted as the first streaks of fire and sailing stones flew into the air.

"What are you going to do?" Ren shouted back as he moved towards one of the ostrich-horses and parried a fist-sized stone projectile with his blade.

"What I do best!" Sokka yelled, squealing as he narrowly dodged a stone javelin and flinging his boomerang in an arc that might, if his targets did not move, knock out two assailants in one throw.

_I'm the bait, focus on me – _

A firebomb exploded at his feet, sending him skidding along the grass.

_–_ _but not _that_ much!_

Sokka rolled, ignoring his bruises and avoiding two more fireballs probably meant as a finishing strike. His boomerang was on its return arc, having apparently connected with one of the firebender's shoulders, but was going to land far out of his reach. _Damn. _

The skirmish was already going very poorly, but Sokka expected that.

Ren had somehow managed to calm one of the mounts down enough to get into the saddle, and Kuei frantically raised lumpy dirt walls to absorb incoming fire. Bosco became shockingly aggressive, charging at an earthbender who tried to sled towards the King. The other ostrich-horse was far off, bolting back towards the woods.

And from the woods, skating along the ground and ignoring the fleeing creature, came five Dai Li agents, conical hats and all.

"Oh, come on!" Sokka dove under two stone coins and fire streamed behind him. He took off – half running, half crawling – to regroup with Kuei and Ren.

The first thing Sokka noticed when the Dai Li joined the fray is that the scruffy wannabe noble greeted them with another crooked grin. The second thing he noticed were glints of metal or earth-colored blurs dashing between the rolling hills and broken stonework, just behind the agents. _So there's even more reinforcements trying to sneak in? Dai Li hired mercenaries _and_ assassins to get us too? Now if only I can live long enough to be flattered._

Sokka grimly acknowledged the situation just went from terrible to hopeless. Even with a perfect plan and fabulous luck, there was no way they could escape these odds with a single mount, a rapidly tiring bear, a marksman without ammunition, a nearly non-combatant earthbender, and Toph's sword_._

_ Sword _s_till needs a name._

An arrow's death-knell whisper. Sokka tensed, waiting for the pain, hoping the archer would at least have the decency to aim for the head or heart. He closed his eyes.

Too much time passed, he knew, even with his adrenaline-soaked brain. Whole seconds. Sokka opened his eyes to see one of the earthbenders – the older, grumpy one – stuck with not one, but three arrows.

Another volley flew from some concealed shadow in the tall grasses. It peppered the firebenders, forcing them to burn the air defensively and scatter their crude, yet effective, formation.

A chain whipped out from behind a boulder and snagged the firebending woman by the ankles. She hit the ground hard.

A sparkling canister flew from behind a shrub towards the Dai Li, but a stone glove swatted it down. The subsequent explosion showered the agent in dirt and dust.

A hulking brute charged out from behind a large oak, smashing down a hastily bent earth-wall with a... tree stump?

And from the bough of the tree, a figure dropped, clad in mismatched armor and wielding a pair of hook swords, a thick mop of brown hair hanging over the eyes.

_Jet? He lived?_

A hooked blade around the wrist of an agent. Another around his knee. A vicious snap kick between the Dai Li's legs. Sokka winced. _Just when I thought that guy couldn't fight any dirtier._

The southern warrior took advantage of the sudden change of fortune. He sprinted for his boomerang. It was his best tool against benders.

Pipsqueak clobbered a firebender. _Sneers, was it? _– who evidently had been practicing with chains – whipped down another. More arrows flew from Longshot's new sniping position behind an upright earth-coin. The Duke tossed an assortment of mismatched explosives at the scraggly earthbender who called for the 'dispatching'.

Ren had picked up Kuei and Bosco was at his heel. "I told you someone was in the trees!" he yelled with a laugh as he rode by. "I'm getting the other horse!"

Sokka nodded, throwing his boomerang at the last standing firebender. The Freedom Fighters had downed most of the people working in the tunnel and the agents were already falling back, dragging their wailing comrade away as the poor man clutched at his groin. Jet was chasing them down, hacking earth gloves apart and nimbly dodging attacks from the ground.

"Stop running and fight you cowards!"

Sokka still caught his boomerang on its return flight, but entirely out of subconscious reflex, as if the nerves in his right arm now housed his brain. The rest of his body was frozen numb. That was not Jet's voice. That was Smellerbee's.

She was wearing parts of his armor, using his weapons, and she got considerably taller over the past half-year, so Sokka excused himself for not noticing right away. In hindsight, her fighting style was a lot more wild. And of course a girl would not think twice about drilling her opponent in the jewels.

"That's enough." It was the second time he heard Longshot speak, ever. He did not shout, yet his voice seemed to carry straight to Smellerbee's ears, because she stopped pursuit immediately.

The din of battle left on a breeze. Sokka found himself staring blankly at his saviors for a few seconds as they checked themselves for injury, before his brain finally migrated back out of his arm and into his skull. It clicked into place with a dopey smile.

"Man, am I so glad – how did you – we would'a been – you're all awesome!"

* * *

Suki had to admit, to see anyone smile with purple lips after being frozen in a sheet of ice was a bit unnerving, but she welcomed Ty Lee's sunny disposition in contrast to Yumi's petulant scowl at the moment. Both girls were currently under a heap of blankets at Nan Shan's inn and slurping on hot soup, trying to warm their bodies back up.

It had taken far too long to chip that ice away.

Iru had enough blood on her collar to indicate a severe head injury, but when Suki checked her over she found not even a scratch on her. The quiet girl could not remember what happened.

Hei-lin, Osha, and Kanima were currently purchasing whatever the town had to offer for a ride. Hopefully ostrich-horses. Though Suki felt a bit guilty about spending yet more of Zuko's funds, he had after all insisted that she use whatever resources she needed to bring his sister back into custody.

The loss of their tank – along with a lot of their hardware and supplies – was yet another embarrassment suffered on account of Azula's scheming, but this one could work in their favor. The vehicle left an obvious trail. Azula had a lead on them, but eventually she would have to abandon the vehicle. Even if she could actually power the thing entirely with firebending when the coal ran out, she would have to sleep eventually.

Suki had already sent out an update to Zuko and an alert to nearby Earth Kingdom authorities to be on the lookout for a giant, steam-powered metal vehicle. It would be hard to miss.

"Sorry, Suki," Iru suddenly whispered from beside Yumi's bed.

"For what?"

"For... losing. I let you down."

Suki put a hand on her comrade's. "Iru, the blame lies with me. I should never have left anyone alone, but I was so focused on catching up with Azula as quickly as possible, I left us vulnerable. I should have expected Azula to attack when we least expected it."

Yumi snorted. "That doesn't make any sense, Captain."

"I thought it was just me," Ty Lee giggled.

Suki let out a weak laugh, happy to see her chilled warriors looking healthier. "We couldn't have been prepared for Azula to have allies out here, especially a waterbender and an earthbender. How does she do that?"

"Maybe... she re-learned how to make friends?" Ty Lee asked. If it was anyone but her, Suki would have assumed it was cutting sarcasm. Instead, the acrobat's expression held a hint of wistfulness.

"Re-learned?" Iru asked.

"She wasn't always... like she is." Ty Lee sighed, but the smile came back. "Maybe there's hope for her!"

"Ty Lee... don't lose focus," Suki said. "If there's to be even the slightest hope for her, she's got to make some effort to change. All I see is a fugitive with a very real motive for revenge, running amok in the Earth Kingdom and somehow recruiting allies to her side. Every moment she's free she becomes a greater risk to the world."

Ty Lee just nodded with a brief frown and returned her attention to her soup.

* * *

Food never tasted so good. But then, Sokka thought that every time he ate. It was better every time, but especially better when one was still alive. Then again the dead probably did not eat much.

After food, he'd try to figure out why a mismatched group of benders were trying to make a tunnel to the city, and why the Dai Li seemed to be familiar with them. If the Dai Li wanted back in to Ba Sing Se, they could do it much better themselves.

Unfortunately, the lack of enemy survivors from the fight made information hard to come by. Any combatants that might have survived the Freedom Fighter's counter-attack were found choked to death by stone gloves. The tunnel held no clues, and only served as a convenient tomb. All five of the Dai Li and 'Dispatch Them!'Guy escaped.

Pipsqueak had set his massive tree-stump-maul down as a bench. Smellerbee, Longshot, and The Duke sat down on it, while the giant and Sneers were comfortable on the ground. Ren and Kuei sat on Sokka's right and left side, completing a circle around a small cooking fire. Lunch consisted of delicious rabbiroo stew, courtesy of Longshot's expert aim and Smellerbee's knack for cooking on the go.

"We've been following you since you leveled part of our forest fighting those earthbenders," The Duke said, fiddling with the munitions clipped over his vest. The kid had grown a bit taller, but he was still pretty shrimpy.

"Hard to keep up with you though," Smellerbee added. "Good thing we know some shortcuts."

"And someone with a fast boat over the lake," Sneers chimed in.

"So... you all moved back to the tree houses?" Sokka asked.

"Just the five of us. It was our home for a long time," Longshot said. Third time Sokka heard him speak. Maybe it was fair to stop counting soon, but it was so weird for there to be sound coming from under that wide straw hat.

"And Ba Sing Se stinks," Smellerbee added darkly.

If Kuei was offended by the comment, he didn't show it. In fact, Kuei had said close to nothing since the battle, introducing himself simply as 'Kuei', and otherwise staying out of the conversation.

Ren, similarly, was silent. Probably, Sokka assumed, because he was a Fire Nation colonial in the area where these kids' families might have once lived. Fortunately, the remnants of Jet's freedom fighters were content to ignore Sokka's current red-garbed company. At least for the moment.

"So what's got the Dai Li after you, Sokka?" Pipsqueak asked after a few moments of quiet eating.

"Trying to get the Earth King back to the city," Sokka said, pointing a thumb towards Kuei.

It was like magic, really. All five of them sprayed stew from their mouths after they understood what Sokka had said. A waste of perfectly good food though. Tragic magic.

"_The_ Earth King?" Smellerbee eventually choked out.

"At your... service," Kuei said with a weak smile.


	19. Against One's Better Judgment

Chapter 19: Against One's Better Judgment

"Well... here we are again," the older man drawled.

Silence. Heat.

"What's the matter, my _son_? Fox-cat got your tongue?"

Zuko stooped down until his nose was mere inches from his father's, close enough for the ex-Fire Lord to feel his scalding breath. He made certain it was scalding – just a degree less than blistering. Let the wicked man wonder.

But Ozai maintained his cruel smile, even as the skin on his cheeks began to redden.

"Is this all a game to you?" Zuko hissed between clenched teeth, pulling away slightly as a few sparks escaped his lips.

Ozai's sneer faded slowly. Perhaps the reality of him again being stripped of his weapons and armor – the cold truth of a prison being his solitary dwelling once more – was finally sinking in. More likely it was the reminder that there was only _one_ firebender in the room.

Zuko made an effort to calm himself. _Don't let him get to you. Look at where he is and where you are._

The airship's brig was essentially an iron box: no windows, just a heavily reinforced door, a narrow slit above it for circulation, a cot, and a bucket. His father was wrapped in chains fastened to loops in the floor, his arms were crossed over his chest and held down, and his feet were restrained by short leashes of metal in front of him. He would have difficulty reaching even the bucket.

"Games are for children. I was making war," Ozai finally said.

Zuko's brow creased: one part anger, one part confusion.

"Within your own nation? Why?"

Ozai barked out a bitter laugh. "Perhaps it is all I know."

"I warned you!" Zuko shouted. "All you've accomplished is to cut our fleet strength in half and waste a lot of lives. _Again_."

The elder man scoffed. "Surely you don't blame me for the disaster at the North Pole? Zhao acted on his own, and your little friend the Avatar responded in kind."

"You were the one to give Zhao the authority... that's not the point! The Fire Nation is in a state of healing and you've just gone and kicked our country in the ribs! I will know why!"

It was getting hotter again. _Damn him._

"The Fire Nation would not need healing at all were it not for your treachery."

Zuko shook his head. "How can you be so blind? Our nation was rotting from the inside out."

Another chuckle. "Ah, your precious concept of morality? You sacrifice a country's well-being just to satisfy your conscience and your self-righteousness."

"You're wrong," Zuko scowled, "if you had ever stepped outside the palace you would know our people suffered from disease, drought, and famine. Only the military and major cities prospered under your... and since when did you care about the Fire Nation's well-being?"

Ozai's visage darkened into something twisted and almost... inhuman. Like a leopard-shark. "I didn't. I don't. The only thing I want now is to see your dreams burn all around you. If I cannot have the world... no one can."

A breath, like a slow, strangled gasp. Zuko thought, vaguely, that someone else was in the cell, before realizing it was his own lungs in arrest. The room suddenly went cold.

"You're insane."

"Oh, shall I share a cell with your sister then?"

Zuko choked, finding something nauseating in his father's tone. "I'm not allowing you two anywhere near each other."

Ozai harrumphed. "No matter. I'm sure you know I left Azula in that downy prison... Tomo, was it?" He snorted. "After all these years of inferiority, you defeated her so soundly that you injured her mind even more than her body. Truly impressive."

Zuko's good eye widened slightly, but Ozai was not paying much attention. _He doesn't know she's escaped. _"I don't care what impresses you anymore. And as for her mental damage, she was already broken before we had our Agni Kai. Probably long before that."

His father shrugged at Zuko's accusatory glare, his chains jangling with the motion. "Merely an observation. It seems... what's that Earth Kingdom expression? I backed the wrong ostrich-horse."

Zuko sighed, trying to rein himself in for what seemed the tenth time in as many minutes. "She couldn't accept defeat, or learn from it. Neither can you, apparently."

"You expect me to just roll over and give up, Zuko? Or..." he laughed, edging towards a mad cackle, "to repent?"

"No." _Not anymore_.

Ozai's shark-grin faltered. "Then..."

"You've forced my hand. Even without bending and behind bars... your very existence creates a threat to peace."

"So it's to be execution, then?" Ozai nodded, seeming to accept his fate as a matter-of-course. "And here I thought you were just bluffing during our last discussion."

"I was."

"And what will your friend the Avatar think?"

Zuko sighed. "Aang may have spared your life, but after that you became my responsibility. I want to respect his wishes, but you've taken his mercy and used it to fashion the deaths of hundreds more people. No more."

"Then I suppose this conversation is over."

Zuko stood up, brushing imaginary dirt from his robes. "Not quite. I know how important glory and fanfare is to you, so I'm offering you a choice. Answer my questions, and if it turns out you're telling the truth, you'll be cremated in a proper royal pyre. If you lie or refuse, I will simply throw you into a pit somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, with only a few local citizens as witnesses."

Ozai's eyes immediately sliced narrow in rage. "You wouldn't dare, you impudent whelp!"

"Try me," Zuko replied, coldly.

The man who was briefly – in his own head – King of the World, was almost wheezing from his own fury. Zuko had finally found something his father still cared about, however twisted the sentiment might be.

Ozai had plenty of time to consider his ideal death, Zuko mused: executed by fire in the Capital Plaza, possibly to the wailing cries of those still loyal to him, but definitely with thousands of eyes to witness his last moments and likely to remember whatever his last, poisonous words would be. To be just killed and dropped in a hole in front of a few peasants would be the ultimate insult to him. His father was hardly a spiritual man, but the fact that burial was considered an eternal trap for your soul to the more superstitious of Fire Nation citizens may also have been a factor. Uncle had once said that all men find faith in their final hour.

"Ask your damn questions!" Ozai snarled.

Zuko pressed quickly. "Qin mentioned you were here in Pohuai, 'taking care of family business', instead of leading the rebel fleet. Now I know it's not about Azula. So that leaves only two people-"

Ozai laughed. "And it all circles back to the beginning! Ha! No, Zuko, it has nothing to do with your mother, but the look on your face almost makes me wish it was." He quieted. "As you noticed, I had acquired your sister's earthbending drones for my own purposes. I set them to the task of gathering additional resources, one such task being to convert my brother into the obedient and deadly General he once was. Obedient to me."

"You brainwashed him!"

"The last report indicated he was resistant, but I certainly hope so..."

"Where is he!"

"-the thought of Iroh being the one to kill you makes me positively-

"Answer me!"

The shark-grin returned. "Ba Sing Se, in one of the Dai Li's many facilities. I don't know more than that. Probably not much time left though."

Zuko remained silent for a moment, save for his labored breathing and his slowly grinding teeth. But, regaining his composure, the Fire Lord turned and made to leave the prison hold.

"Oh, Zuko... speaking of your mother..."

The Fire Lord stopped.

"The last order I gave regarding the Princess Ursa was to have her imprisoned within the barracks of Gaipan," Ozai stated. "That was about three years ago, after your banishment. Surely by now she's wasting away, hearing news that her beloved son has claimed the throne and yet wondering why no one has freed her yet."

It was a whisper, but Ozai still heard it. "Monster."

"Doubt you have time for both, _son! _You're likely too late for either!"

Zuko slammed the cell door closed behind him, muffling the echoes of Ozai's demented laughter.

* * *

"Why in tarnation are ya laughin' like that?"

Azula shook her head and suppressed a manic grin. She had forgotten she had an audience. _But it feels so good._

"I... have not been able to enjoy firebending in months."

"Huh." Mijo turned her attention back to the tank controls, though she was essentially just holding the steering yoke steady at this point. The swamp native may have been clueless about machinery, but she did follow directions quite well.

Firebending. Even if she was using it to fuel a tank-train, and even if it lacked her fearsome surge of azure power, it felt good. The flames flowed from her palms and into the furnace, blossoming in tangerine petals. Doubtlessly, she was tired, but her bending no longer made her so dizzy and fatigued, no longer felt like she was trying to squeeze blood from stone. It was only as powerful as a typical firebending officer, but the rest she was certain would come with time. Though it was still a mystery to her as to why she had to retrain herself in the first place.

Her good mood was not just a product of firebending either. She had supplies now. Transportation. And she engineered a daring escape without loss of strategic materials. Considering the circumstances, it was perfect.

"Well, hun, as much as it's nice to see ya actually smilin' fer once, the smidge o' creepy besides, there is a big ol' heapa coal next to ya. How 'bout you teach Ghan how to steer this thing so I can treat that cut?"

If only the strategic materials would be quiet.

"We'll use the fuel only when I need to rest," Azula replied, "coal will be difficult to resupply."

The tank-train jerked suddenly to the left. Azula hissed in pain as she put weight on her bad leg to keep her balance. Dark, fresh crimson oozed towards her knee.

"Sorry hun, rock in the way," Mijo announced.

"You did that on purpose!"

"Well, yeah. It was a pretty big rock."

Azula shrieked and punched a bolt of fire into the furnace. "Ghan! Get up here!"

"I don't reckon he can hear ya in the other car."

Azula glared daggers at Mijo, who was – as usual – unfazed. However, despite the waterbender's astute observation, the steel sliding door groaned open at the back of the car, and Ghan stepped through – a rush of outside air providing fanfare as it whipped his ragged clothing about. The wiry boy shoved it closed with an annoyed grunt.

"Is there a reason this metal carriage suddenly lurched to the side? I'd prefer to keep my blessed skull intact, thank you."

Azula snapped a finger towards the controls. "See that stick Mijo is holding? Push it left for left, right for right. Keep it steady. If you see a large rock ahead," Azula turned to Mijo, "adjust course _smoothly_ to go around it. Do not touch anything else."

"I need to fix her leg, hun," Mijo added, before Ghan could object. The boy nodded and traded places with her at the front of the car. Azula focused a pinpoint flame to one finger, using the ember as a makeshift cutting tool and slicing away the pant leg from above the injury. She needed to procure clothes more sensible to the climate soon anyway.

Mijo strode up to Azula, waved the wisps of smoke away with a bemused smirk, and kneeled to inspect her injury, . It was a nasty wound, she knew that much, and likely serious if ignored. Back in the Fire Nation, she would have had to get it stitched – or more likely – cauterized. It would have scarred. Scars reminded her of Zuko, and Zuko of failure (among other things), and failure was unacceptable. A scar was always the result of an error.

But she had already failed, had she not? How many errors had she made over the past few months? She was a fugitive. Her mission now was little more than to avoid capture. Instead of a definite goal to strive towards, she had an indefinite consequence to run away from. She could only remain where she was or slip backwards. How does one muster drive when the best that could be hoped for was to remain in the status quo?

A dim glow caught her eye. Mijo had gathered a little cloud from the air again. This time, Azula could not help but be a little impressed. Whereas before the waterbender had worked moisture from reasonably humid air, in the engine car the air was no doubt hot and dry.

"How do you do that?" Azula found the words leapt from her mouth before she could stop them. She doubly hated the awed tone in her own voice.

"Do what?" Mijo pressed the glowing mist towards Azula's thigh.

"Call vapor from nowhere." Curiosity was crushing her pride, but she drew some satisfaction from purging the childlike wonder out of her speech.

"Breath, this go 'round," Mijo answered curtly, concentrating on her work.

"You're... breathing on my leg?"

The older girl chuckled. "Ya make it sound dirty."

Azula snorted. "I've read about waterbender healing as it is performed by the Northern Water Tribe. I've never heard of it done with vapor, just relatively larger amounts of liquid water. At first I assumed the vapor was more useful for internal injuries and ailments..."

She trailed off. The pain had all but vanished, and when Azula peered down she noticed that her flesh had been knitted back together with only a slight pinkness left over. Weeks of healing in a matter of seconds. No scarring.

"Fog works better, all 'round, I reckon," Mijo said as she stood up.

She tested her weight on the healed leg. Tender, but otherwise completely functional. "I don't see why you made such a fuss before."

Mijo crossed her arms.

"I'm merely stating," Azula continued, "that you do not appear to be terribly exhausted. Nor have I seen you strain from any other healing effort I've witnessed."

Mijo laughed, apparently never able to stay angry or even annoyed for long. "Reckon that's as close a compliment as I'm ever to get from ya."

Azula rolled her eyes.

"It was kinda easy," she said. "Flesh is simple. So is fevers, bug bites... not broken bones though, still gotta set them suckers the ol' fashioned way, and maybe speed it along a trifle. Guts are even harder. Very tricky. And I ain't know what half of 'em do, but I always figure thin's out as I go along. It's sorta like-"

"Wait." Azula held up a hand, and Mijo brought her rambling to a halt with a pout. Clearly the woman enjoyed discussing her art. "Are you telling me that you have no formal training?"

"Well... no." Mijo frowned slightly. "Ya think 'fog witch' is an endearin' term?"

"What does that have to do-"

"Most folks where I'm from are the kind who believe in ghostly stuff. Suppose I am too, but I ain't in the business of bein' afraid of myself."

Azula looked nonplussed. Mijo sighed.

"Never mind. I guess ya could say I'm self-teachin'."

"So, every time you heal, you are experimenting?" Azula twitched.

"Well, I wouldn't say that... Slim helped me sometimes."

"Slim?"

"He's a catgator."

Azula felt her limbs tingle.

"Perhaps..." Ghan ventured from the controls. The boy was so quiet she nearly forgot he was present. "Perhaps Mijo is what one might deem an intuitive healer? She did, after all, figure out how to remove a horrifying curse of paralysis all on her own."

"Curse of..." Azula blinked, mumbling to herself. The idea that Ty Lee, in all her pink aura glory, hexed her victims with some kind of unholy touch was absurd.

"What I was tryin' to say," Mijo pressed, "is that fixing ya up after yer little barbeque was the hardest thing I've ever done. Ya almost _died_. Ya get that, Ilah?"

"I'm certain you will not let me forget," Azula quipped, examining her highly imperfect nails.

"Barbeque? A cooking accident?" Ghan wondered out loud.

"You!" the princess snapped. "Keep your eyes ahead, lest you drive us off a cliff!"

Ghan flicked his attention back forward, while Mijo ignored the brief exchange, her face unusually somber. "Ilah... there's somethin' else I noticed while healing ya... I dunno-"

"Where I come from," Azula interrupted, "physicians do not discuss their patient's medical conditions in mixed company. If you would kindly maintain at least some level of professionalism, I might be able to overlook the fact that your anatomy knowledge is based in part on studying giant reptiles."

"But-"

Azula thrust a roaring blast of fire into the furnace, followed by another. With a sigh and a shake of the head, Mijo relieved a somewhat panicked Ghan from the tank-train controls, and the journey returned to relative silence.

* * *

She slid down the steep slope along the edge of the plateau, her bare feet digging into the earth as skis would carve into snow. Toph grimaced as the motion exacerbated the dull ache in her hip, but that was nothing compared to the throbbing pain drumming from her ribs or the excruciating pulse in her right arm.

Nothing was _broken_, so far as she could tell. At least there were not any bits that felt loose. Fractured was very likely. Earthbenders tended to have strong bones, perhaps abnormally so, but they were far from invincible... and despite her elemental prowess she was still just a small teenage girl.

It hurt far too much to use her right arm for anything, so she had bent an earthen cast around her forearm for protection, held against her body with a strip of cloth from her sleeve. It did not help with the pain much, but she had no idea what else to do. Sokka was the survival expert and Katara was the field medic. Aang knew a bit of both. With a groan, Toph admonished herself for ignoring those skills.

It seemed, despite her best efforts, she was still her parents' child. Sometimes that came in handy in civilized areas, but certainly not out in the wilderness. The beasts and weather of the outdoor world would not be impressed by her official seal.

Toph resisted the urge to scream in frustration. Now there were things scuttling around the extreme periphery of her unique senses, moving around her in gradually smaller circles. Big things with lots of legs. Though screaming would likely only bring them faster, and she was hardly in any condition for a fight.

At least she was only starving and not also dying of thirst; there was plenty of water around. Despite the mostly desolate network of canyons she found herself in, recent rains had left water collected in small pools and rocky indentations. She managed to find some that smelled clean enough to drink, but the experience only reminded her how spoiled she had been by Katara's ability to extract perfectly pure water from nearly any source. More to the point, she lamented the fact that her friend was not available to fix her up. If the Dai Li caught up to her again...

A cool breeze, pinched and funneled by the narrow pass, cast a reverberating hum. Dust eddied in wild swirls. Water dripped from a cluster of stones. The sun baked the earth, drying it out in places and leaving hundreds of tiny cracks and fissures.

Toph found it increasingly difficult to filter out what she considered 'background noise' under most circumstances. Suddenly everything was loud and threatening, a sensation she had not experienced since she first began to learn earthbending from the badger-moles.

_So tired..._

But she pressed southeast, knowing the massive lake she had sensed before was still to the northeast, and circled around it in what she hoped was the general direction of Ba Sing Se. She had no idea how far she needed to go, only a rough direction. Geography – she noted the slight irony – was not her strong point.

Through the buzzing sensory maelstrom, she picked out a distinct pulse not too far to the south. A sudden pull, a curious sense of loss, followed by a sudden thump and reunion.

Someone was earthbending. Or more likely, a bunch of someone's were earthbending on a large scale. The movements were regular and controlled.

She quickened her pace. Friend or foe, they had to be better than Dai Li or those many-legged things.

A second pulse. _Definitely building something. It's structured... tall. A monument?_ But they were still so far away. A few hours walking, minimum. _I can make that, I just need a little break before the last stretch._

Toph bent a crude shelf and gently seated herself, allowing her aching body a moment's repose. Her stomach groaned, begging for attention. She had no idea how long someone could go without food, but if her belly had anything to say about it, she was likely to croak any minute. She hoped a short breather would help stay her hunger, if only for a little while longer.

The weary girl lost track of how long she lounged on the raised earth. It felt like mere minutes, but somehow a few of those spindly creatures had moved very quickly from being long strides away to being close enough she could smell them. Their scent was damp and slightly acrid, like so many insects she had discovered in the dirt as a toddler. Specifically the kind that lived in moist caves.

Toph carefully got to her feet. "You want something?"

She got a hissing, clicking noise in response. More than she expected, really. The clicking noise sounded like a giant beak, so it followed they planned to eat her. But then, she already knew that.

There were three close enough to be an immediate threat, and perhaps a dozen more not far off. As they circled, testing her for a reaction, an odd memory surfaced: Katara had once compared the buzzard-wasps of the Si Wong Desert to jackal-gulls: grotesque scavenger birds common to the southern floes. The birds would float around in a wide berth, simply waiting for their prey to die or injure itself in panic. Sokka added (never missing an opportunity to yammer about his wildlife expertise) that aggressive pack predators such as wolf-orcas would instead close a tight circle very quickly to overwhelm large prey, or pick small stragglers from a group. So were these things the scavenger type?

If so, the four-legged freaks in close proximity were apparently less patient – or more desperate – for a meal than the ones farther off. She was not sure if that gave her better or worse odds.

"You waiting for me to kick the bucket? Fat chance!"

One moved back, one remained still, one moved towards her slowly. Toph wracked her brain for earthbending forms that could be performed with one arm, or improvised as such.

The closest one lunged. Toph stomped the ground in a standard move to lift a boulder into the air, then palmed it towards her target with her good hand. The rock exploded over a chitinous skull, but the monstrous bug just shrugged it off. The other two apparently found this encouraging, because now they also skittered in her direction.

She slid her foot, her side twinging, and fell into a wide stance, narrowing her profile towards the same bug-thing as before. The packed dirt underneath it crumbled to loose sand, and the creature scrabbled for purchase in an ever-widening pit. Toph followed the move up with a sharp uppercut, which surged her trap into a swiftly rising pillar. The impact set the creature on its backside, but in moments it rolled back to its feet, seemingly unharmed.

"What are you _made_ out of?"

She wondered if this was how she might have fared had she not run into Iroh in the wilderness of the Southern Earth Kingdom all those months ago. Had she abandoned the task of the teaching the Avatar – over hurt feelings of all things – she might have been a snack for some woodland predator in a matter of days. Or eaten something poisonous. Or drowned in a shallow stream.

The creatures backed her against a cliff wall.

Perhaps she would send a letter to Dad, and take him up on his offer of having a personal guard. Or a whole gang of mercenaries. He's willing to help in any way he can, so why not let him? Also, a master chef in her entourage would be magnificent.

_Shut up, stomach. We have to survive _this_ first._

Toph Bei Fong was never helpless, and would never go down without a fight. She almost laughed... she would have to do the very thing she that she claimed prevented Aang from initially becoming an earthbender: she had to approach these armored things from a different angle.

The first creature lunged at her. She brushed the wall behind her, turning a section of the rock to a sandy pudding, then rolled away. A sharp, painful protest from her ribs forced a few tears as she got back to her feet, but she ignored it. The desperate scavenger had its beak stuck in the viscous earth, and Toph clasped her good hand into a fist, sealing the creature's head in solid stone.

The second of her attackers tried to skitter up and attack her from behind, perhaps thinking her attention was elsewhere. To a girl who viewed the world through her feet, however, there was no such thing as 'line of sight', 'field of vision', or even, ironically, a 'blind spot', at least with grounded enemies. She saw in all directions at once.

As the insectoid monster tried to clamp its jaws around her head, Toph leaned forward and swept a leg backwards, digging in her big toe. The earth responded, rising in a flash as a wickedly edged sheet. There was a wet, almost crunching noise, followed by two dull thumps, followed by a tormented hiss. She had severed its legs all along one side.

As the crippled crawler tried to pull itself away on half its legs, the third turned to follow it. After all, a scavenger goes after the easiest meal. The other tried in vain to free itself from the cliff wall. It was probably food now too. Adrenaline seeping away, Toph got her bearings and began trudging towards the earthbending she detected earlier.

A few strides behind her, she heard a click, a snap, and a crunch. Mealtime. The stench was almost overwhelming, though more for its potency than anything else. The more distant creatures almost immediately came running, and she doubted she wanted to be around when they arrived.

_Just place one step in front of the other... as fast as possible._

On the third step, her stomach grumbled again, cramping almost painfully. At the same time, her foot nudged a severed limb on the ground, still twitching slightly with echoes of its previous owner's final command. She had not noticed it, despite the movement. Fortunate it was not a snake.

Toph 'stared' at it. Her mouth slightly open.

A precious minute passed. She groaned. Crunching and squishing continued on, mere steps away.

A hand waved, a shelf raised, a lost extremity... presented on a fine earthen platter.

Steeling herself and allowing no more hesitation, she extended her good arm and began digging into the open side of the bony limb for anything that felt like meat.

* * *

"I hate this city," Smellerbee announced as they approached the massive wall.

_Don't ask why, don't ask why, don't ask why..._

"Might I be so bold as to inquire why?" Kuei asked, just slightly resembling a kicked polar pup.

Sokka smacked his palm into his forehead.

Surprisingly, the girl looked contrite for a moment, before answering, "I lost a friend here."

"I'm... sorry," the King eventually said.

Smellerbee sighed. "Just... fix this place, alright? And have those Dai Li scum hunted down..." Longshot subtly elbowed her shoulder. "Uh, please... your Highness."

Kuei simply nodded. Bosco yawned, the setting sun casting his teeth as saber-long shadows.

The other three remaining Freedom Fighters trailed quietly behind, though Sokka could not determine if the expressions on their faces were awe or exhaustion. Perhaps both. Ren brought up the rear, far enough back to be nearly out of earshot, leading both of the ostrich-horses. Sokka allowed Sneers, The Duke, and Pipsqueak to pass as he waited for the colonial.

"Still in one piece back here?" he asked, taking one of the animal's reins.

"More or less," Ren replied. "I'm just... well I don't want to rub any of your friends the wrong way."

Sokka laughed. "What? I distinctly recall you doing exactly that to Toph, Aang, and Katara."

Ren snorted. "Yeah, but... they're pretty good sports about it."

Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Well okay, perhaps not your sister. But she was only eager to make me uncomfortable in recompense."

"And?"

"And that... _gang_, well... the way they fought? They would be eager for more than just splashing me with cold water if I got on their bad side, which I assume would be easy given my heritage and what's happened to them."

Sokka stroked a non-existent beard for a moment. "Maybe. But you're half Earth Kingdom too, right?"

"Yes, but... they lost their entire _families_, Sokka. Parents and siblings, dead to make room for colonies like the one I grew up in. They'll only see the side of me they can't stand. Just as the other kids in Dragon's Tongue only saw me as a 'dirt-mongrel half-breed'." Ren slouched a bit. "If only my father had been more discreet with his periodic visits, but I suppose he was just trying to be honorable about the whole thing..."

Sokka shrugged. "I lost my mother to a Fire Nation raid."

Ren started, his thoughts quickly derailed. "Oh. I'm sorry. I did not know that."

The warrior shook his head. "The point is, I gave up trying to hate everyone who wore a red uniform many months ago. You can't hold every citizen responsible for the choices of their family, their government, or their military. And wouldn't you know it, the current Fire Lord is one of my closest friends, and you and I get along just fine."

Up ahead, the party stopped a moment, while The Duke held up a large melon – produced from where, Sokka had no idea. Unsheathing Jet's swords, Smellerbee promptly slashed the fruit into several large wedges in a few short seconds. Ren winced.

"Of course, I see where you're coming from too. Sometimes it's better not to push your luck." Sokka said, as The Duke happily began passing out the pieces of fruit to everyone ahead.

Ren nodded. They were nearly at the Outer Wall now, mere minutes of walking to go, marching straight at what was probably the front gate (he could not be entirely sure, as the wall appeared to have no gate at all from the outside). From there, they could finally leave the barren wasteland behind them, hopefully get a respite from pursuers and ambushers, and have a nice, leisurely train ride through the Agrarian Zone. Then, return the king, hopefully get fed a pile of the best meat the city can offer, and regroup with-

Sokka felt a bump at his waist as The Duke nudged him with a piece of fruit. "Want some?"

"Sure! Thanks!" Sokka said, enthusiastically inspecting the snack. The outside skin had a somewhat scale-like appearance. Dragon-melon? Pine-kiwi? Something from warmer climes, for certain. To his side, Ren graciously accepted a piece himself, the Duke offering a simple, 'sure thing!' in reply, before jogging back to catch up with his comrades.

"Well, the youngest seems nice enough... but then he's also the one carrying enough explosives to level a mansion."

Sokka shrugged. "Kids in wartime gotta be tough. I was training eight and ten year-olds back home before Aang arrived on the scene."

"_You_ were training them, even back then?" Ren asked, incredulously.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I was not some prodigious talent. Although I was pretty sharp with the boomerang, if I do say so myself. It's just there was no one else."

Ren still looked confused. "What about the fathers? Or a weaponmaster?"

"Ha! A weaponmaster in my village... back then? Unless you wanted to be a master of the soup ladle, options were limited. The men were all away, doing whatever they could to turn the tide of the war. I was the oldest male for... a long time."

"I... cannot imagine. I suppose I should be more grateful of the time I have had with my parents."

A companionable silence fell over the pair. All things considered, Sokka was over the fact that he had to stay behind when his father left for war. Sure, it was mostly horrible at the time, but it turned out being around to protect the village and his sister became a pretty demanding job over the past year. And he and Hakoda got their father-son bonding in whenever they could. Ren, on the other hand- _wait a minute._

"Hey!" Sokka suddenly barked, startling Ren and earning a few curious glances from those ahead. "Did you just say your father visited periodically? As in, over many past years?"

"Ah, yes. I suppose so. Why?"

"When you first joined us, you mentioned you only met him once, and that your fancy clothes were new to you."

Ren frowned. "Um, I can explain..."

"Anything else you've been lying about? Because that is going to get you on the 'bad side' a lot faster than a red tunic or a topknot will in my book, buddy," Sokka finished, pointing an accusatory finger at Ren's chest.

"Wait! It's not like that!" Ren held his arms up, as if expecting Sokka's finger to shoot something.

"Well, what's it like?"

"I just... for once I did not want to be judged by my parentage, okay? Everyone I meet dislikes me because of my Fire Nation blood, or my mother being a weaponsmith, or my Earth Kingdom blood, or my father being stinking rich. No one ever looks past that, except for you, Toph, and maybe Aang. When Katara brought up the subject my clothes... I just didn't want to give a reason to be judged."

Sokka lowered his finger. "Oh, okay then."

"Wuh... what?"

"Just making sure you weren't a spy." Sokka stated as he walked on.

"And that was all it took?"

"Well, that, and since we stopped by Dragon's Tongue by pure happenstance, you'd have to be some kind of unlikely mega-spy to have been ready to intercept us there."

Ren stalled, mid-stride. "You are having a joke at my expense, aren't you?"

"Yup."

"You, Sir, are an ass."

"I'd rather have you miffed than mopey. Looks like we're here," Sokka said, as the pair caught up to the rest of the group leaning against the wall.

"Hooray." Smellerbee said, devoid of any enthusiasm. In some ways, the girl now reminded him of Mai. Or at least, how Mai was a few months ago: brooding, violent, tall, all sharp angles and zero smiles. But then Smellerbee was also unkempt, wore some bright, mismatched colors, and still looked a bit boyish. And she clearly had no issues with getting dirty.

"So, do we knock, or something?" Sokka asked, looking at Kuei. Pipsqueak guffawed, but the king remained oblivious.

"I am afraid I do not know the protocols for admittance. How sad, that I know so much of the palace and nobility, and now of the outdoor world, but nothing in between?"

"I got it!" The Duke said. A second later, he pulled some kind of tube out of his satchel, along with a piece of flint, and began striking sparks off a rough bit of something attached to his sleeve. Then Sokka noticed the fuse sticking out of the tube.

The tribesman squealed, which he would later insist was a manly shout of alarm.

"Whoa! Let's not blow up the wall, okay?"

The Duke quirked an eyebrow. "What? It's just a signal flare."

"Right! Right," Sokka said, exhaling slowly and flopping against the wall as he tried to calm his frayed nerves. Far too much excitement lately. "Well, carry on then."

"Although blowing up the wall would probably get their attention too," Smellerbee added.

The Duke just grinned, pointed his flare skyward, and waited for the fuse to burn down.

* * *

A weak chuckle echoed off irregular stone barriers, flanking her left and right. A comedy of errors, one might call it, and she had to agree it was kind of funny, in a twisted way. She would have bet her inheritance that if anyone was to be done in by their pride and then their appetite, it would be Sokka.

_Well, that's a pretty dark thought. Snoozles doesn't deserve that._

The good news was she was not starving anymore. A little queasy, perhaps, and longing for something to cleanse the palette, but not starving. Cold bug meat was surprisingly satisfying, if one could get past the slimy texture... and the smell.

_But that's the problem, isn't it? You're a stink-beacon for every hungry thing in this canyon._

Her hands and one forearm were now soaked with critter blood, and the scuffle just minutes ago had added cuts and scrapes to her injuries. She dragged herself along, still on her feet but limping like a lame bird. Adrenaline was gone; everything hurt. And she was cold... the sun must have set.

_And you're gonna be food. Screw that, I'll entomb myself before I get gnawed on by those things._

There were more of the insects in the vicinity than could be satisfied by eating a couple of their own. More than could be satisfied by eating _her_ too, but bugs could not be expected to be good at math. So now, reeking of raw meat, exhaustion, and death, she was a walking snack for whichever one got to her first.

They were not racing. These scavengers, by her estimate, liked to conserve energy. And she was moving so slowly, they could just skitter at their leisure and catch up to her in no time at all.

The nearest was about a thousand paces behind her. The last thump of earthbending she had felt ahead before nightfall was at least four times that distance. Would screaming help? Maybe the echo would reach whoever was there.

Or perhaps she had misread the activity all along, and it was just the work of badger-moles. Much as she loved the creatures, she had no special psychic link to them. She hardly had the energy to scream anyway.

A few more minutes of plodding. Dozens of snapping jaws and four times that many spindly legs, trailing at a mere five-hundred paces. _Oh, what the hell._

Toph drew in a deep breath and shouted for help at the top of her lungs. She leaned against the nearest boulder and listened to her own voice echoing throughout the terrain. The damned things chasing her halted for a moment, before casually resuming their pursuit.

The world's greatest earthbender sat down, with only her heels in the dry soil. Her radius of perception shrunk. Idly, she tried lifting some of the earth, but anything larger than her hand was almost too heavy.

_Great, I'm so weak now I can't even bury myself._

Most people considered being buried alive one of the most hellish tortures or executions imaginable. Earthbenders, due to the fact even the most mediocre could burrow out at will, hardly gave it a second thought. Toph in particular, who feared neither earthen prisons, small spaces, nor darkness, considered it a pretty peaceful way to go, all things considered.

_Funny, never thought I'd want 'peaceful'. But I know I don't want 'ripped apart' and-_

Toph raised a hand to her mouth, nearly spilling the contents of her stomach over her chest. As she willed herself to settle down from her own visceral imagination, her lips touched something smooth and cold: the tiny meteor-earth ring on her pinky finger.

"Huh," she mumbled aloud, as she pulled the ring off and gently suspended it in the air.

There was always something peculiar about the material. It was a composite of many different earths, some she recognized and some she did not, but none seemed to be particularly unusual. And yet, somehow, the combination could be forged into a spectacular metal, light and incredibly durable, yet still malleable enough to not be prone to shattering. More amazing still, was how effortless it was for her to manipulate it in its unrefined form.

_Effortless._

The leader of the pack entered her awareness, silently moving in on her, but nothing that walked could be silent enough for her senses. Then there was another, and another, and then three more...

She extended one finger. The ring, still floating and spinning lazily in the air, warped into a single, narrow flechette. Toph waited, and listened.

The nearest creature was only ten feet away, making what she supposed was the equivalent of sniffing noises. Toph flicked her forefinger at it.

The black projectile blinked forward and pierced a bony skull. Toph twirled her finger, as if directing a concert, and the scavenger beast shuddered, went limp, and collapsed.

She bent back her finger, and her weapon zipped back out of the skull and fluttered in front of her hand. She felt a few drops of something hit the dirt just underneath it.

Two more creatures dragged the carcass away. Five more behind that went sniffing around in her direction again.

Finger flick. Brain-scramble. Four-legged death-twitch. One survivor took the easy meal, the other three still moved towards her.

_Come on, put two and two together and back off..._

Flick. Scramble. Thud.

_Not working fast enough..._

Flick. Scramble. Spasm.

_Oh hell, one's on the rock above me!_

Flick... miss. Toph struggled to get her projectile back to her. Even 'effortless' was fast becoming too much strain in her current state.

She felt a pinch on her shoulder, and another at her waist, and then both forces went in opposite directions. She was lifted in the air, blind completely, helpless, and waiting to be drawn in two pieces. And she was screaming, terror itself becoming a source of energy.

She felt something tear. Oddly, being pulled apart did not hurt quite as much as she expected, just felt kind of cold. She certainly felt the impact of being dropped on the ground, however. And she felt the trickle of wetness around her shoulder.

Lying on the ground as some struggle ensued above her, Toph realized that she was still in one piece. Definitely lost some skin around her shoulder, but the sensation of cold was not due to being pulled asunder but rather due to her tunic and tabard having been torn from her body, leaving her topless save for her chest wrappings. Too terrified to appreciate the few extra moments afforded to her by her loose clothing, Toph merely curled into a ball.

There were dozens around her now, fighting over the three she managed to kill and oddly over the scraps of her clothing, but it was only a matter of time before she was noticed, half naked and bleeding on the ground.

And then earth swallowed her up.


	20. Pain and Punishment

Chapter 20: Pain and Punishment

A year ago, a reprieve from the humdrum daily routine of life in the Capital was one of her two constant desires. Now, as Mai leaned against a tree alongside the road to Pohuai, she curiously found herself almost yearning for that stable boredom again. _Almost_.

She was still many knife throws away from finding tedium a familiar comfort. More specifically, Mai thought she would prefer something of a compromise: perhaps excitement without all the blood and violence – that _was_ starting to get a bit old.

_Almost as old as waiting for that racket behind me to stop. _As if to spite her, the shadows beyond the treeline responded with a crescendo of splintering wood.

At first, it was almost a game: hurl knives at the enemy. String together complex throwing combinations and pin limbs to unlikely surfaces at unexpected angles. Avoid getting soaked, covered in dirt, or worse (and she would have performed flawlessly were it not for the Avatar's bison... or the Earth King's bear). She was not ashamed to admit that pursuing the Avatar and Zuko across the Earth Kingdom was some of the most fun she ever had. It was a rush, a challenge, and though she had merely traded one leash for another, Azula's leash held considerably more slack than that of Mai's parents.

So why, now that she was back in the Earth Kingdom, this time embarking on a search and rescue mission, did she find the prospect of more fighting distasteful? Granted, the element of being contrary was gone, seeing as how even her parents had finally accepted her dual nature as a noblewoman and a warrior, but that was certainly not her motivator for fighting anyway. Being rebellious merely for the sake of itself was for stupid teenagers.

A familiar drumming in the brush. Many sharp things striking something soft in unison. Mai did not so much as flinch.

_Am I simply bored of war?_ _Amusing._ It was possible. Mai could admit to herself that she lost interest in many things pretty quickly, but there were a few constants in her life that always got a rise out of her, and one of them was her knives. The assault on the stronghold was exhilarating, as was the battle between Zuko and Qin's fleets. Combat was still _interesting_, was it not?

She let the recent memories run through her mind: the touch of steel leaving the tips of her fingers, the light whirl in the air, the shocked gasps as proud, arrogant benders, muscled pikemen, or sinewy archers found themselves disabled, sometimes wounded if necessary. Not one for melee, she recalls clearly the instinctive reaction to plunge one of her blades into the leg flesh of Zuko's attacker, crimson splashing her hands, the shouts and the screams and the smoke and fire, explosions, Ozai's cackling, soldiers on both sides falling into the ocean, their armor too heavy to swim in...

The ground shook slightly. Mai grimaced, jolted out of reverie, and eyed her surroundings carefully. Tremors were not in the list of sensations she expected right now, but then the Dai Li would never be so sloppy.

No, she was not _bored_ with war, exactly. But something had changed. She remembered the blood and the shrieking more clearly than the spin of her weapons. Evidently, her practice to avoid lethal force was not just because sticking a knife in someone's torso was not challenging enough.

Of course, there were times she had every intention of ending the life of her target. Mostly targets that had threatened her family or someone she cared about,and it would have been one of the Avatar's companions, if anyone. Companions that were now _her_ companions, of a sort. If she had killed any of them, it was likely the war would have become far uglier. _She_ would have become far uglier.

_Oh, I'm so poetic._ Mai sighed and shook her head.

Ablade of ice sheared a small branch off the tree overhead, said branch proceeding to bat the top of her head, and the idea of killing one of the Avatar's companions immediately became palatable again.

Mai rubbed the sore spot on her scalp, fixed her hair, and brushed any loose plant matter off her breezy, dark robes and tunic. If she ever had the choice, she would never wear one of those clinching catsuits again. At least not in a fight.

Purposefully, she strode from around the tree and into a small clearing peppered with spires of ice, puddles of water, and small clouds of fog. Most of the surrounding shrubbery was shredded into mulch. The sun, already so low along the coast to the west, sent hardly more than a few rays to light the way. In the center, her target was dressed in little more than undergarments, throwing her element around in a decidedly inelegant manner.

She loosed a blade into her hand and threw.

The handle of the weapon bounced off the crown of Katara's head with a dull, metallic hum, causing the waterbender to stumble through her kata and drop a globe of water over herself. Immediately she was back on her feet and ringing herself with frozen shards.

Seething, she identified her assailant. "Mai? Did you just _throw a knife at my head?_ What in freezing hell did you do that for?" Mai noticed some of the ice surrounding Katara vibrated in response to every word, as if she was at the head of a mob of angry villagers.

"You just dropped a few pounds of tree on my head, I thought it was a reasonable response."

"I did _not_."

Mai pointedly observed the destroyed plant-life in all directions.

For several moments, Katara looked very likely to attack. The tribal girl was shaking, eyes full of malice, her ring of death rotating around her, each spike gradually becoming longer and sharper. The waterbender's fingers tensed...

And her weapons splashed into the ground. Mai took that as a cue to approach, although it was difficult finding ground that was still dry.

"I didn't know anyone was nearby," Katara said, then added, "you could have killed me."

"Is that how Water Tribe people apologize?"

Katara wheeled around and thrust a finger at Mai's face. "_Excuse me?_ It was an accident. You purposefullythrew a _knife_ at my head!"

"I was mad at you," Mai stated, not sounding angry in the slightest, as she bent down to retrieve her weapon from the ground. "Besides, I lead in with the handle. I don't have many with handles."

"Is that how Fire Nation people apologize?" Katara mocked.

Mai sighed. Katara stared at her, waiting for the next barb.

"You've been at this all day," Mai said instead.

"Well _you've _been – wait, what?"

"Since daybreak. You slept, what, maybe three hours? I've never even seen Zuko train that much in one day."

"You should have seen him in the days before the comet." Katara replied, still fuming under an enormous effort to remain civil.

Mai huffed. "Yeah, I should have."

The two girls stood for a moment in an uncomfortable quiet. Or at least Mai thought it might have been uncomfortable for Katara. She, on the other hand, was close friends with silence.

The forest grew rapidly dark as the sun finished setting. Katara gathered her damp clothes and extracted the water – somewhat viciously – and quickly dressed. As an afterthought, she melted all the ice and flung the excess water in a spray farther into the forest. The clearing hardly looked any better for the effort.

"So where is Zuko, anyway?" Katara asked as they stepped onto the road, holding a gleaming blue hand on her head. She _still_ looked ready to fight.

"Getting us ground transportation from Pohuai. We're heading east within the hour."

"Already? What's east?"

Mai pondered the wisdom of mentioning the word 'mother' around the touchy waterbender, especially in her current state of mind. Zuko's recounting of their little field trip described a dark side to Katara that Mai could hardly believe until last night.

"It's important," Mai began, "and we have to move fast. Besides, you could have been resting all day."

"So, ground transport... what's wrong with the airship?"

"Nothing, but we also need to be less conspicuous, and come daybreak a black balloon is going to turn some heads. Plus it's being used to ferry prisoners. Jee will bring the airship back to us after Ozai and the others are transferred."

Katara bristled visibly at the mention of Ozai. "I see."

_Oh, I can't just drop this._ "So why the all-day training?"

Katara stopped walking. "I... was working on new forms."

"New? I thought you mastered everything out there."

"There are degrees of mastery," Katara replied, in that somewhat condescending way benders tended to speak about their art to non-benders, as if all the other disciplines did not require the same dedication. "But no, I mean new as in _new._ For a waterbender anyway. Earth and air forms."

Mai raised an eyebrow, too curious to be offended, not that she would have shown offense regardless. "That works?"

Finally, Katara seemed to relax a little. "Not exactly. I've seen Aang and Toph do their forms enough times to try them, but they all require subtle changes to still work with water. But so far I can do this..."

She dropped into a wide stance and extended one fist slowly forward, then suddenly jerked the hand skyward as she loosed it into more of a claw. A second later, a spike of ice shot up out of the ground a few steps ahead of them.

"Impressive," Mai said.

Katara was still on guard and appeared uncertain whether that was a compliment or sarcasm. "If there's enough water underground, I can use a common earthbending form to rapidly freeze it and bring it to the surface."

Mai walked up to the spike and examined it. She had seen the earthbending form Katara had apparently based this new move on a few times before: it created a quick wedge from the ground, usually to function as both a barrier or to knock an enemy away. The worst damage it could do was crack a rib or two, depending on the material at hand.

"This would impale somebody." Mai stated.

Katara let out a dark laugh. "That's kinda the point."

Mai turned slowly around and fixed Katara with a level stare. And sighed. "What is wrong with you?"

She scowled. "Nothing, I just needed to work off some energy today. How long were you hanging around out here anyway?"

"Long enough to know that wasn't training. Not most of it. Most of it was you just destroying things."

Katara crossed her arms. "And?"

"You know who else can spend an entire day training, destroys things around her when she's upset, and thinks skewering people is funny?"

Katara relaxed slightly, lost in thought, before snapping back to her surly demeanor. "Do _not_ compare me to her."

"Why not? You've both got horrible tempers, take your bending way too seriously, and lose your mind when you think you've been abandoned."

"Shut up."

Mai's limbs went rigid. For a moment, she wanted to scream, wanted to be terrified, but years of indifference to her emotions did come in handy from time to time. "You know, that's exactly what you said to Ozai before you started choking him."

As suddenly as she was held, she was released. A vague tingling sensation raced through her, as if she had fallen asleep on all her limbs at the same time. Mai looked up at Katara, who had clasped her hands in front of her face and streamed tears from her eyes.

"Mai, oh... I'm so sorry... I didn't... I'd never... are you alright?" In a flash, the waterbender was over her, running a glowing hand of water over her head and healing the bump there, before hastily checking her arms for any other injury.

Mai caught the hand, and the water stopped glowing and sloshed at their feet. "I'm fine."

Katara stepped back. "I... can't believe I did that to you-"

"That's an interesting trick," Mai said, cutting off Katara's remorseful muttering.

"There's nothing interesting about it... it's horrible," Katara almost whispered, eyes to the ground, "I'm horrible."

"Well, it is... unsettling," Mai replied, not bothering to contradict the girl. "You said 'people are mostly water' yesterday?"

"Yeah. Blood. Only works during the night of a full moon, when waterbending is at its strongest."

"The full moon was _last_ night."

"Yeah..."

"It saved all our lives though. We'd have probably all been killed without you."

"I guess."

"So stop the waterworks. It's a creepy technique but it's only wrong if you use it for the wrong reason."

Katara considered for a moment. "Like holding someone in place just for saying something I didn't like?"

"Yeah, like that."

"I've just... I'm worried about Aang, and sometimes I'm mad at him... and I have these dreams... I'm sorry, Mai."

"You said that already."

"I'm being serious!" Katara snapped. "It's inexcusable to lose control like that, especially with a friend... but the power, when it's there, it just begs to be used..." She shook her head. "I promised myself I'd never use it, and I've broken that promise three times now."

_ A friend, huh?_ Mai placed a gloved hand on the smaller girl's shoulder. "Maybe you should just embrace it for what it is: a tool. It's only as dark and dangerous as you want it to be." Mai terminated her statement by tapping Katara on the forehead with the handle of the same blade she had whacked her with mere minutes ago. Katara hardly seemed to react.

"Look," Mai continued, "I know that being separated from someone you care about can be... hard. But you're not alone out here. If you try to take it all in yourself, you'll break."

"I..."

"And honestly, Zuko does enough brooding for our whole group," Mai said, as she turned to walk the road back to camp, "so I'd appreciate it if you'd go back to your sickeningly sunny disposition."

Katara followed in silence for most of the ten-minute trek back. Mai watched and listened for ambush the whole while, knowing Katara was likely both unaware of and unconcerned with any possible threat. Mai did not have the luxury of being able to throw bodies around at will this evening, and she would not be surprised if some Yu Yan or Dai Li doubled back around after the assault to try and reclaim some of their losses. But they arrived at their temporary field camp along the road without incident.

The girls approached a roaring campfire, surrounded by men and women in armor and ringed with equipment, the airship already long gone. Zuko and some other soldiers loaded supplies into a wagon with two komodo-rhinos tethered to haul it. Before she could call out to them, Katara caught her shoulder. "Hey."

"Hm?" Mai wondered, not turning around.

"Thanks."

Mai wanted to just shrug in response, but could not. At first she thought Katara was playing around with her bloodbending, but the source of restraint turned out to be more mundane. _Oh, she's hugging me. Back on Ty Lee's end of the emotional spectrum I suppose._

Katara quickly let go, before Mai even had a chance to consider whether she would return the gesture or not. "Well, I'm exhausted, and it sounds like we have a lot of traveling ahead of us. Think there's space to grab a nap in there?"

"How would I know?" Mai asked, but Katara was already greeting Zuko and climbing into the back of the wagon.

"We're ready to go." Zuko said, practically jogging in place. "Everything okay?"

Mai glanced towards the wagon.

"I hope so."

* * *

Within the tank-train's central car stood a row of dinged up steel lockers. Identical, save for one locker at the end of the row adorned in pink ribbons. Its door ajar, Azula spared a cursory glance at Ty Lee's personal affects: makeup, of both the beautifying variety and the thick Kyoshi face paints, a small hand mirror, a cotton scarf, a few simple baubles, a handful of coins, spare clothing, a few pieces for repairing splint armor, a hopelessly tangled sewing kit, and some soap.

Little of those articles were of interest to her, though she did note that Ty Lee's choice of items had become quite a bit more practical of late. It was only months ago, in an identical vehicle, that Ty Lee had filled her trunk with stuffed animals, gaudy souvenirs, fine silks, and trashy romance scrolls. This locker, were it not for the ribbons, hardly seemed like Ty Lee at all.

_But then, I don't really know Ty Lee anymore._

Still, her ex-friend's flighty change of interests had an upside. Azula had discovered a well-made, hardened leather cuirass and a low-profile mantle in a ruddy red shade (though tragically, trimmed in dark green cloth in some places) that fit her remarkably well, aside from an irksome difference in the bust. To match, a pair of warm trousers and a shirt in the same dark red-brown color, leather bracers, and most importantly... boots. Sturdy, fire-national quality boots that kept mud far, far away from between her toes. They fit even better than the armor.

Azula snatched the hand mirror from Ty Lee's locker and gave herself a quick inspection. Still without makeup and her hair tied back in a simple, low ponytail (and it would remain that way – she was already feeling a nervous chill just from a few seconds of seeing her own reflection), she considered herself to be somewhat plain, but then a fugitive had better things to worry about than her vanity. Carefully, she set the mirror down and closed the door, sliding the latch of the locker shut.

"I suppose that locker conveniently happens to be filled with your possessions as well, hm?"

Azula almost jumped, but she managed to make her surprise look like a lazy rolling of the shoulders as she turned to face Ghan, who was leaning against the opposite wall with a scowl. _How did he get so close without me noticing?_

Granted, they had stopped the train, and the side door and plank were wide open. In theory someone could have quietly entered without her notice. Ghan did not strike her as someone so quiet or agile, however, and that did not bode well for her ability to ward off assassins or captors. She made a mental note to be more vigilant, no matter how relaxed a simple bath and clean clothing made her feel.

"Were you watching me get dressed?" Azula asked with an equally displeased expression.

Ghan immediately held up a hand and sputtered. "What? In the desert, it is sin to gaze upon the flesh of a woman who is not one's wife or avowed mistress. Especially for a priest!"

"In case you haven't noticed, this is not the desert," Azula said, making for the door. _Avowed mistress? Sounds like a pleasant term to describe a whore._

"That does not matter," Ghan replied, his composure and disapproving glare back in place. "I want you to understand I would not disrespect you in such a lecherous manner." The Si Wong native held out his ankh to block her way. "I also want you to understand you have not successfully distracted me from your act of thievery."

Azula smirked. "Oh, so you would disrespect me in some other way?"

"If my duties demand it. And that will not work."

"What won't?"

"Your verbal... evasions. It seems I may have judged you too favorably when we first met."

"It's not your place to judge me at all."

Azula considered incinerating the sacred symbol hovering in front of her path, but settled for swatting it away instead and descended the ramp into the cool autumn night. Wordlessly, Ghan followed her, and Azula considered incinerating him instead. Those rags he considered apparel would probably burn very quickly.

Mijo was seated by a small campfire nestled in a small clearing between the tank-train and a large, oddly cylindrical boulder. Over the fire roasted... some kind of lizards impaled on sticks. The swamp girl hummed to herself as she turned the sizzling reptiles over; apparently this would pass for dinner. As Azula and Ghan approached, Mijo gave a smile and a wave.

"What's with yer frownin'?" she asked, her mood dimming a bit, as she began swirling water from the chilly air into a set of canteens. "I'd reckon you'd be happy after a bath."

Azula raised an eyebrow as she perched herself on a tree stump. "You call a rinse with plain soap in a metal washtub a bath?"

Mijo laughed. "That's what most folk call it, I reckon. Then again, I'm fond of just strippin' down for a good ol' fashioned waterbendin' scrubbin'."

"Once a month, or so?" Azula could not resist, it just flew out and she was not going to be ashamed of it.

Mijo just sniffed at an armpit and shrugged. Ghan apparently found the stars extremely interesting.

A chilling breeze whistled through the gap between their vehicle and the stone, overtaking the sudden silence. To her relief, Azula's new attire blocked out most of the cold (not that she could not heat herself, but she was already exhausted from firebending for hours), but Mijo wiggled even closer to the small fire and hugged herself, rubbing her bare arms.

"Ghan, could ya be a dear and raise some dirt to block out that wind?" Mijo asked.

Ghan started, lowering his gaze from the stars overhead. "Um, of course. One moment."

As Ghan strode a few paces upwind, Mijo turned to Azula. "And hun, think you could stoke the fire a bit?"

Azula crossed her arms. "No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?"

"Stoking cooking fires are for servant girls with mediocre firebending capability. I spent years training in combat forms. Would you ask a blademaster to cut vegetables with his sword?"

Mijo crossed her own arms. "I reckon I would, if that's all we got. Besides, yer firebendin' ain't that great."

Azula almost tackled the older girl, but held herself at just taking a menacing step forward. "Like you would know what great firebending looks like, holed up in a damp cesspool your whole life!"

"I hear stories."

"And you should talk, your capacity for self-defense is laughable!"

"I done never claimed to be something I ain't."

Azula froze. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Another frosty gale blew through camp, but the cooking fire burned brightly. To her dismay, Azula realized she had been fueling the fire during her outburst, however incidentally. Mijo noticed this too, and that just made her angrier. _I lost control... and that smug grin on her face... oh I will relish burning it off!_

"Ghan, what's the holdup with that darn wall?" Mijo yelled over her shoulder. Cast in the dim light from camp, she spotted Ghan thrashing his arms left and right, slowly building up a heap of loose dirt, before he paused and slouched.

"I am... not very good with this sort of thing," he replied, his gritty voice barely audible over the wind, or perhaps because of it. "I am used to sand, fine earth. I cannot create solid walls and structures."

Azula scoffed, her mounting rage discarded for an opportunity to mock the young priest. "That is nonsense. Your brutish companions threw plenty of solid structures at me."

"They frequently traded outside the desert, and learned that way. Before this week, I had never gone farther than the Misty Palms Oasis."

"So you cannot make a wall, a shelter, or even throw a rock?" Azula tut-tutted. "Pathetic."

Ghan stomped the ground, a plume of dirt erupting from his heel and doubling the size of the granular barrier he was working on. "Perhaps your tongue would not be so sharp were your lungs filled with gravel!"

"Is that a threat?" Azula lowered into a basic stance, feet apart, hands in front of her.

Ghan mirrored her movements, staff in hand. "Sand-priests are not pacifists, firebender."

Mijo jumped between them. "Hey, hey! Y'all simmer down! Ghan, I reckon that there pile is good enough." She turned. "Ilah... please?"

Ghan dropped his guard. Ever the perfect time to strike, and yet... _damn you Mijo and your pleading koala-puppy eyes._ Azula settled herself back down, wondering – not for the first time – what it was about Mijo that compelled her to honor her wishes. The swamp girl was infuriatingly immune to her threats, constantly spoke to her as if she were an equal, and refused to show her the proper respect. Although, since she could only hint at her background, perhaps that could not be helped.

_Or, perhaps, you actually respect her courage, honesty, and directness, even if she lacks tact or poise._ The thought rose, unbidden. A voice in her head, very much like that of her mother's.

_Don't make me laugh. Those same words would describe my brother, if you add in 'stupidity' and 'treachery'._

_ Yes, they would, wouldn't they?_ The voice answered.

Even as she started this 'conversation', she wanted to escape it. This was dangerously close to hallucinating, and was she not through with those episodes by now?

Azula shook her head and focused on the cooking fire.

Ghan sat himself down next to Mijo and fixed Azula with a wary expression. "Mijo, do you intend to offer penance for your theft?"

The waterbender pouted. "What? Yer still on about that?"

"Indeed. He is obsessed," Azula added.

"Like a naggin' ol' grandma."

Ghan groaned. "I do not speak of penance for my own benefit. It is for yours."

"We ain't from the sands, Ghan. We take nothin' and owe nothin' to yer spirit."

"I knew you were smarter than you looked," Azula chimed in with a grin. Mijo stuck her tongue out in response.

"Actually," Ghan stated, stonefaced, "you partook of her sacred nectar. There is no greater thing you could have claimed from Fei Hyo."

"It was just cactus juice!"

"Is that going to be your argument in the world after?" Ghan asked.

Azula snorted.

Ghan turned on her. "You doubt the existence of the spirit world, Ilah?"

The princess shrugged. "There is sufficient evidence for spirits and planes beyond our own, I suppose. What I do not believe is that any of these spirits would care for our arguments or efforts one way or the other." Azula leaned back, tilting her head towards the starry sky. "They are powerful and ancient, and with power and knowledge comes the luxury of doing what one pleases over those with less. If I were a spirit, I would either crush any mortals that crossed my path, simply because I could... or I would ignore them entirely and save my energy for dealing with other spirits."

Ghan hummed in thought. "Yes, some spirits do exactly that: destroy, or remain aloof. Some spirits fight amongst themselves, just as mortals do, and are no better than very powerful thugs brawling in a marketplace."

"Sounds scary." Mijo commented, now peeling the crispy skins off the cooking... salamander things... and rubbing them into powder between her hands over a shallow bowl.

Ghan nodded. "Fei Hyo is not one of those spirits. She has taken the people of the Si Wong as her family. She protects us, provides for us, and disciplines us as a mother would her children."

Azula frowned."She provides you a life in a barely liveable environment where half your drinkable water is tainted with toxic chemicals; the protection stems from the fact that no one in their right mind would want to live there."

"As you see it."

Azula's expression darkened, continuing on without even acknowledging Ghan any longer. "But she's certainly perfected the task of discipline, just like _my_ mother."

"To the point," Ghan continued his preaching, oblivious to Azula's lack of attention, "my obsession with the matter, as you call it, is because to steal from another is tantamount to murder in the desert, where resources are so scarce. The tribe must remain a strong family, working together in order to flourish. A thief is a parasite, that must be excised before the body, the family, dies."

"So ya kill 'em?" Mijo asked, as she mixed mushrooms into the bowl of reptile skin crumbles.

"Banishment or abandonment, usually. Thieves that survive can rejoin the tribe, having learned the value of life without the collective efforts of the tribe to assist them, but they must return with more than they stole."

"Sounds like a death sentence to me," Azula stated, rejoining the conversation.

Ghan nodded again. "It often is."

"So do you intend to attempt to punish me for stealing these clothes, priest?" Azula asked, staring hard at Ghan, who irritatingly just tilted his head to the side. _Why doesn't anyone fear me anymore?_

"Of course not. As you have both pointed out, this is not the desert. The laws of my tribe do not apply to you. Moreover, a magi would do that. Priests offer the chance to atone, magi enforce the law."

"So why are you still here, exactly?" Azula asked.

"Ilah!" Mijo scolded.

"What? It's a simple question."

Ghan drummed his fingers along his weapon. "Well, first of all, I am compelled to protect life-bringers... women... by my code."

Azula rolled her eyes. "Admit it, you have nowhere else to go. You were about to attack me a minute ago."

"You were provoking me!" Ghan shouted, then took a deep breath. "Just like you are doing now," he added, much calmer. "You have a story to tell, Ilah, and I will hear it, as part of our agreement."

"What agreement are you talking about, exactly?" Azula examined her nails. They were clean, but short.

Ghan scowled. "You agreed to tell me your story in exchange for my assistance in helping you escape from those female warriors."

"Oh, so I did."

"Well?"

"I wouldn't mind hearin' more about ya, girl." Mijo said.

Azula looked up. "Another day, perhaps. Besides, as long as I delay my sad little tale, Ghan has a convenient excuse to hang around."

Ghan muttered something under his breath.

"Dinner's ready!" Mijo said with a smile. "Lizard stickers and hide-spiced mushrooms, one of Uncle Huu's favorites!"

Azula began meditating in order to prepare her palate and stomach for the imminent trial ahead.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," Ghan said, attention back on Mijo. "I implore you consider penance for your spiritual well being. Stealing, even trifles, breaks trust in those around you. In time, thieves always find they have stolen away trust along with their misbegotten goods, and whether they tread sand, dirt, swamp, or stone, they will inevitably find themselves abandoned and scorned by all they hold dear."

For a long minute, no one said a word.

"So... what do I gotta do?" Mijo finally asked.

Ghan actually smiled a little. "Hold out your hand, palm down."

Mijo slowly extended her arm. Ghan bent over the outstretched hand, reaching around his collar for a pendant hanging about his neck. The necklace was simple: a leather cord with a twisted loop attached to it, the same symbol as on the top of his staff. He removed the pendant from his neck, rubbed the metal with his thumb, and closed his eyes.

Then, faster than a startled fawn-hare, he whipped the leather across Mijo's exposed knuckles, drawing a yelp from the girl and an angry red mark over the damaged skin.

"Ow! What was that fer?" Mijo snarled.

"Don't heal that with your waterbending, and you are forgiven," Ghan said in response.

Azula cackled. "Is that it?" She extended her own hand in a fist. An instant before the leather contacted her skin it would burst into flames. Any mild discomfort would be worth the look on the pious child's face.

Ghan made no motion to strike her hand. "It is symbolic. It is far more important that Mijo offered penance, without knowing the penalty, than the punishment itself."

"That hurt," Mijo whined, rubbing her hand, but not drawing any radiant moisture to it.

Ghan returned his pendant to its hiding place within his dusty clothing. "I am sorry, Mijo. I take no pleasure in harming you."

"Naw, I asked fer it, I guess. I'm just glad ya didn't whip out a knife er somethin'."

Ghan nodded his head and reached for his share of the food.

* * *

His meditation spot would have been perfect under other circumstances. Aang was seated on a wide, smooth boulder along the bank of a gently trickling stream; it had once been larger, clearly, with shiny, silken stones piled high along each bank. A tiny waterfall cascaded over a waist-high ledge, and scrub plains spread out in all directions, sprinkled with rasp-kiwi bushes and other wild berry plants. Appa and Momo were in heaven on this broad island.

Aang groaned and uncrossed his legs. Meditation would not come to him. The morning songbirds were too loud, his skin still itched at times from the paralytic poison Iioru had shot him with, it was too cold, and he had an inexplicable craving for onion-banana juice. His abductor-cum-history teacher was hanging around in the periphery of his senses as well, with Appa._ Trust enough to give me space, but you're making sure I can't go anywhere without you having a opportunity to try and stop me._

Iioru had been mostly silent since they left the Southern Air Temple, leaving Aang to his own thoughts for the past couple days, for which he was somewhat grateful. Having someone voice aloud that Gyatso had taken lives a hundred years ago, that was not such a shock. Though he tried to forget it, seeing all those skeletons in shattered burgundy armor around his mentor's corpse last winter painted a pretty clear picture of what had happened. Combine that, however, with the fact that Gyatso had not acted alone... that children and old masters alike had been forced to kill... Aang could hardly imagine an awkward, innocent misfit like Jinju taking another's life. It just screamed _wrong_ to him.

With a growl, Aang breathed fire straight into the air, something he'd seen Zuko do dozens of times when he was upset. It did not make him feel any better. He was being foolish and naïve, just as so many nobles, councilors, and generals accused him (never to his face, of course, but airbenders have long ears). Of course they would defend themselves and their home. It was human nature, and only the truly enlightened could resist such an urge. Had he not run away, would he not have stood at Gyatso's side until the bitter end?

_ Yes. If I had witnessed the attack on my home, my brothers slain in front of my eyes, I would have. I have before. I killed that buzzard-wasp in the desert. I've dropped war machines off cliffs, knowing they had people inside. I leveled an entire fleet... or I let La use me to level an entire fleet. Yangchen was right. They were all right..._

Aang clamped down, and the Avatar State retreated from him like a lieutenant reluctantly following a general's orders. Dangerously close to losing control. He was reassured, on some level, that he could actually access it again, but... well, there was a great difference between the united, focused state under Aang's direction, and the wild state guided by chaos and emotion.

The Avatar rose to his feet and rubbed at his temples, noting the hard stubble that had formed on his scalp. Perhaps he would feel better after a clean shave. He cast a sheet of water from the stream against the rock, forming a frozen mirror. A smooth river stone, sheared to an edge with earthbending, functioned as a razor. Even a day without his bending left Aang truly appreciating how much it was a part of his life, no matter how mundane the use.

Aang froze, only half his head shaven.

_Ozai. Do you..._

A wash of memories and dreams flooded into his mind. For the past few days, he'd been having fragmented visions of people he knew. Nothing so long and debilitating as his induced trance when Toph and Ren sprang Kuei from those pirates, thankfully. More like intense bursts of information.

Two nights ago, he knew Katara and Zuko battled Ozai. He also knew all three were still alive, and all three were extremely upset. Did that mean no one won? Should he not just swat Iioru away from Appa and rejoin his friends? Was he seeing the past, present, or future?

Last night, he got a spike of Toph and terror. In rapid beats. He almost took off immediately, but just as suddenly, she was asleep. Cradled in earth. Was she just having a nightmare, and he was somehow picking up on the echoes of her dreams?

He also received oddly clear visions of two other people. One was Sokka, who was spending an awful lot of time moving and fighting alongside Ren and Kuei. But he was also laughing here and there, so he seemed okay. Plus, he made it to Ba Sing Se. Or a very large cliff.

The other person was Azula. She was running with two other people. Aang was reasonably certain, though he had no idea why, that he could find her easily, at any time. He also knew she was not a danger at the moment. She was just hiding, like a wounded animal.

"Ugh! This is all so confusing!" He had to know what happened to his people, but he also had responsibilities. But ultimately, he had to restore balance, and that required airbenders to be truly complete, did it not?

Aang hastily finished shaving the hairs off his head.

"Ow! Monkey-feathers!"

He had cut himself on the last stroke.

A thin trail of blood ran down along the arrow on his forehead. Aang hurled the stone in his hand as far as he could throw it without earthbending, and drew a thin film of water from the stream to his hand.

He only had the most basic of lessons from Katara, before they were separated. Healing did not come as easily to him as the rest of waterbending did. In fact, it had not come at all, at the time. Aang felt he understood the mechanics, but it just had not clicked for him.

And it was not going to now, either. Aang succeeded in washing the cut, but it still bled a little. It was just a scratch anyway.

Aang air-sprinted along the open fields to where he knew Iioru and Appa were, heedless of the tall grasses whipping at his elbows. In minutes, he approached his animal guide, who cheerfully grazed himself fat, and his fellow airbender, who was practicing his bending with his odd weapon in a dusty, clay-rich clearing. Momo was flying in circles, likely hunting for bugs.

"Are you refreshed, Avatar Aang?" Iioru said as he swung his blade upwards, a whorl of dust twisting up along with it. Every sweep of the blade literally whistled.

"Not really," Aang replied, eyes fixed on the singing metal.

Iioru stopped his practice. "We call it a flute-blade," he said, holding out the weapon, "would you like to try it?"

Aang shook his head. "No thanks. I'd rather have a glider... do airbenders still use gliders?"

"Many do."

Aang smiled.

"Still, the flute-blade comes in many shapes, and has become part of our culture. Many gliders are not built as a staff, but as a glaive."

Aang's smile instantly dispersed. "So it's a glider with something sharp and deadly stuck onto it?"

"I suppose, yes."

He sagged. "Great."

Iioru returned the perforated sword to its scabbard. "Tell me, Avatar Aang, do you notice anything unusual about this place?"

Aang shrugged. "It's an island in the south seas, east of Kyoshi Island. It's a place known for vicious storms all year long... I think master airbenders came here to train, once. What else is there to notice?"

Iioru tapped his foot on the ground. Reflexively, Aang mimicked him, picking up vibrations through the earth. Below them lay a system of caverns and tunnels, most of them caved in. They were standing on what was once likely the main entrance.

"I cannot see it, but I believe you can." Iioru stated. "This place was built with the help of earthbenders for the survivors of the Southern and Eastern air temples. Somewhere they could hide. For nearly three years, a couple hundred airbenders lived here – mostly males from the Southern Air Temple. They even had a few bison." Iioru cast a dark glance to his side, clenching his fist. "According to record, they were the only survivors of the initial genocide Sozin unleashed on us, and they had to live in stifling darkness, deprived of open air, relying on the kindness of strangers to bring them food and water."

Aang sat down. "What happened?"

"Sozin was relentless. We are not sure how, but he found this place, and bombed it into oblivion. Less than fifty escaped, all children or teenagers, on four bison."

The Avatar State was tapping on the back of his brain. "He was after me. If I had just... been there..."

"Some believe that if you were there, we would have been saved, and blame you as much as Sozin. Others believe you would have died, and merely pushed the genocide onto the Water Tribes, or worse."

Aang fought back tears. "What do you think?"

Iioru looked taken aback. "Me? Why?"

"Just... curious."

A sigh. "You disappeared well before the attack. I see your heart, Avatar, and know you would have stayed, if you had known what was coming. What that would have changed is anyone's guess."

"Yeah..."

"The Fire Nation is wholly responsible for their actions, and they will suffer the consequences."

_I don't want to get into this argument again. _"What happened to the kids?"

The swordsman took a seat next to Aang. "They fled farther to the southeast, into the Surging Sea, a place of constant squalls and hurricanes."

Aang looked up. "The elder monks always told us to stay away from there. Even a hundred airbenders couldn't tame those storms. There's nothing there anyway."

"The children had no other choice. They were being pursued, so they went to a place they were certain the Fire Nation could not follow. The unknown was their only chance."

"And they survived."

"More than that. They lived. They found a home."

Aang stood up. "Will you take me there?"

Iioru, below him, smiled. It was a cold smile, but lacked the creeping darkness of his other expressions. "That is my intention."


	21. Familial Impact: Part I

Chapter 21: Familial Impact: Part I

He had only been in the city for a night and a day, and he already felt like a spider-fly banging around in a glass jar... with no air holes and a clutch of grub-scorpions for roommates. Despite his love for progress, science, and industry, he was not overly fond of cities – seeing as the worst things happened to him while visiting them. Everything from crawling around in a sewer, getting offal in his mouth, and having little purple monsters attach to his face, to his best tactical plans unraveling in disaster and allowing his father to be taken prisoner, to watching his first love sacrifice herself and fade away... occurred within the walls of a metropolis.

Ba Sing Se was by far his least favorite, however. At least Omashu, the Northern Water Capital, and even the Fire Capital had their redeeming qualities. It was Ba Sing Se that gave him his first and last breach of brainless optimism, then crushed it in the cruelest way possible, nearly costing him one of his best friends and dooming the world to Ozai's rule. Plus, that poetry club was just way too strict. No appreciation for free-verse.

Sure, General Hao was practically weeping tears of joy when he, Ren, and the Freedom Fighters brought Kuei in through the palace gates. Yes, he enjoyed the most succulent meat the city had to offer, and held the promise of having more – cooked to order – whenever he wanted (which was frequently). And of course, it was fantastic having a king's blessing to peruse any of the University libraries or Dai Li archives. He could spend the rest of his life here consuming beef and books.

But as before, there were greater things at stake. Not everyone within the palace looked quite so pleased to see Kuei back on the throne. Taku representatives were beginning to get on the bad side of Ba Sing Se officials, and vice versa. There were unconfirmed rumors about a massive naval battle off the northern peninsula of the Fire Nation mainland, and he had no correspondence from either Aang, Katara, or Zuko to confirm or deny it. Toph had not yet arrived, and no couriers or scouts had heard anything on her whereabouts. And to add a final, unsavory frosting to the current tower of disaster-cake, an official message circulating with Suki's signature indicated she was in pursuit of a dangerous fugitive, with a description suspiciously similar to Azula, somewhere in the middle-southern reaches of the Earth Kingdom.

He had no idea what to do. Search-and-rescue for Toph? Play at diplomacy for Kuei? Investigate whatever quagmire may have gone down in the Fire Nation? Rendezvous with Suki to assist with her dragnet? Find the bug that had crawled up the Taku Assembly's ass?

Which was why he was going to talk to someone who may give him a sense of direction. Or possibly confuse him even more. Either way, it was a better plan than spending another day pondering and deliberating. Because men_ do not pace and fret_, thank you very much.

"So, you are telling me that the legendary General Iroh, Dragon of the West, the man who arguably should have been Fire Lord... runs an Upper Ring teashop?" Ren asked, as they walked down the wide, stone avenue. The Upper Ring, unlike most of the city, boasted quite a bit of elbow room, especially along the gaping band of cobbled stone that made up the High Concourse. Only the grandest residences and the most exclusive shops and cafes occupied this realm. That is, except the _Jasmine Dragon_, when Iroh could cajole the wall sentries into turning a blind eye to visitors from the Middle (and sometimes even Lower) Ring.

"Yup," Sokka replied, distractedly.

Ren creased his brow. "So... what's he like?"

"Jolly. Except when he's not."

Ren rolled his eyes. "Informative."

Sokka shrugged. "He's the kind of guy people write epics about. I can't really do him any justice with just a couple words... you'll find out soon enough."

After a few moments, Ren spoke again. "I never imagined my first contract would be this exciting... or lucrative."

"I bet. You went from offering a freebie to the Avatar to getting a significant reward from the royal coffers," Sokka said, then added, "Not that you seem to need it, particularly."

Ren grimaced, slightly. "Well, it means I was able to get new crossbow bolts smithed quickly, and it will be nice living off something besides my father's guilt-money for awhile."

"What, you don't get along with your dad?" Sokka asked with a raised brow.

Ren shrugged. "I do not hate him or anything. It is merely the fact that the first fifteen years of my life was absent a father, and now it is as if he is trying to just... buy off those lost years with gold."

"Hm." _Don't know how I'd feel about that._ "What about your mom?"

He pursed his lips. "Oh, my mother is a bit... free-spirited. The circumstances around my conception were, well... ignominious seems perhaps too strong a word, but you can imagine the events that would lead an Earth Kingdom clerk working in a neutral port to father a child with a young Fire Colonial woman."

Sokka adjusted his collar. "Uh, yeah. I guess that explains why she was okay with you taking off with us. Free-spirit and all."

"Maybe, but she still worries like all mothers do, even as she tries to hide it, and she must have settled down when she realized she was going to raise a child... I sent her a letter yesterday. As for my father, I shall be willing to give him a chance when he is willing to live under the same roof as us. He's not merely a humble clerk anymore, after all."

"What, he own a trading company now or something?"

Ren smirked. "My friend, I believe I have properly spilled enough of my guts today. What about _your_ father?"

"Well, besides what's bound to be in the epic scrolls and plays? He makes the best elephant-squid stew, and he's the funniest guy I know. He taught me everything I know about surviving in the wilderness, and how important it is to think outside the box." He nodded to the large building nearby. "The rest will have to wait, because we're here."

Sokka took one step up the stairs to Iroh's tea shop and immediately realized something was wrong. There were no murmured voices coming from within, no delicious scents wafting through the windows, no steam pluming from the kitchen's vents. The front door should not have even been closed, and with the lunch hour in full swing, the place was ordinarily at least busy, if not packed.

"Rather quiet, wouldn't you say?" Ren asked.

"Yeah... that's not right." Sokka took the remaining stairs two at a time and promptly tried the door, finding it locked. "Hmm."

"Do you suppose he went to assist the Fire Lord?"

Sokka scratched his chin. "Maybe. But he loves this shop, and last I heard he had enough employees to run the place in his absence, even if the tea wouldn't be quite as good. I doubt he'd close it."

"General Hao seemed to believe he was still in the city, too."

"True, but the poor guy probably doesn't know which way is north with all the sleep he's been getting the past few months. Huh." Sokka squinted at the door.

"What?"

Reaching up to the edge of the door frame at about shoulder height, Sokka ran a finger along a dark stain in the wood. Thin, black flakes fell away, and the tip of his finger came up stained. "Scorch mark? A recent one, or it wouldn't be quite so flaky... or dried ink maybe?" Sokka turned to face his friend. Looked over his shoulder. Blinked.

"Should we..."

"Nope! Let's grab something to eat elsewhere!" Sokka replied, loudly.

"What? But..."

"I'm in the mood for some Chameleon Bay Crabsters anyway, ever had them?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Delicious! I know a place!" Sokka said, all but dragging Ren away from the teashop.

Ren hissed in his ear. "Why in the blazing hell are we leaving?"

Sokka whispered back. "Because we are being watched."

"Oh." Ren started to glance around. Sokka put an arm around his shoulders and nearly shook him.

"Act casual man, you're good at that kind of thing."

"Right, right, okay," Ren replied, loosening up.

Sokka raised his voice to normal. "Seriously though, best seafood I've ever had, _are you armed? _And coming from a tribesman that is quite the endorsement."

"Sounds like something I must try, _no, I thought it would be crass in the Upper Ring._"

Sokka rolled his eyes and turned down a side street towards the Middle Ring.

"Glad you asked! The serving girls there are pretty easy on the eyes, _never go anywhere unarmed, how's your hand-to-hand?_" Sokka finished with a laugh as if he had told a dirty joke.

"Alright, you sold me! _Non-existent._"

"Wonderful!" He said with a smile. "_Wonderful._" He added with a groan.

Sokka had now turned them into about the shadiest alley one could find in the Upper Ring, which was to say that it was like the safest and richest street in the Lower Ring. Still, if one wanted to provoke an ambush... _Ah, Dai Li, how predictable you've become._

He was not fully armed, but good old Boomerang was something easily dismissed as an accessory, toy, or cultural quirk, so Sokka could take it with him virtually anywhere without anyone feeling threatened. Unless they had seen someone get cracked in the brain pan with it before, that is.

The instant he caught a conical hat poking over a shingled roof, he ripped it from his back holster and let fly.

A satisfying _thwuck_ and a _thumpa-thumpa-thumpa-whoosh-smack_ later, and Sokka had a moaning agent at his feet. He caught his weapon on the return arc, and was hardly surprised when two more robed men dropped down in front of him.

"You have assaulted an agent of the Dai Li. You'll be coming with us," one of the men said.

Sokka laughed. "Come on, you have zero authority in this city or anywhere else. Defection can really ruin your credibility."

"It seemed to work for the current Fire Lord," the other agent said.

"Good point."

The next response was a rock fist that Sokka barely managed to avoid colliding with his face. Judging by the thump behind him, Ren may not have been so lucky. He retaliated with another throw of his boomerang, but without a wide area he could not manage a curve, which meant it was not coming back.

Not that it mattered, because the first agent to speak peppered it out of the air in a hail of stone bullets.

"Surrender, or lose your life," the other agent said.

He glanced back at Ren, who was clutching at his chest but still standing. Now they were both unarmed and against elite earthbenders. Maybe provoking them was a bad idea.

The street did not have much. It was a small business district in the upper ring, and streets like this were used to make deliveries to the various shops without cluttering the pretty concourses with wagons, pack animals, and their various leavings. This meant there was nothing lying around, no windows to dive through, and no cover. Just a corridor of stone and a bunch of locked doors.

Ren stepped forward with his arms up, some blood trickling from his mouth. Sokka was about to protest, even if it was in vain, until Ren suddenly stopped short and put a boot on the fallen man's neck.

"Back off," he said, "or I'll crush his throat."

The other pair exchanged a glance, hesitating for a moment. Sokka frantically scanned the area for anything useful, because in a second they would probably-

"You are not a killer, child," the first agent said.

"You also under-estimate the pragmatic nature of Dai Li protocols," the other added, drawing back for another attack.

"Wait! We surrender!" Sokka shouted.

Ren slumped, then raised his arms again. As both young men found themselves shackled, Ren grumbled. "They called my bluff."

"Well, I thought you were pretty convincing, but these guys would sell their own mother if it meant they got to swagger around the streets of Ba Sing Se again."

Sokka did not imagine his stone cuffs getting tighter as they were marched into a sudden opening in the ground.

* * *

"How is she doing, Mom?" the voice of a young man asked.

_Awful._

"Well, I'm no physician, but I think she'll pull through. It will take some time for her injuries to heal though."

_Also, you're too loud._

"I still can't believe I found her alone out here."

_Wasn't Plan A._

"Alone, fighting canyon crawlers... and you and your father ran straight at them."

S_he sounds pissed._

"Mom, if we didn't act right away, she would have-"

_Died. Yeah._

"I know." A sigh. "We should let her rest."

_But I can't sleep, all I keep thinking about is-_

The sensation had been akin to being passed through some giant serpent's intestines. For the briefest moment, she thought she had been swallowed whole by one of the creatures, but she could sense far too much detail beyond her cocoon to mistake it for something organic. Blind, but no more so than normal, with little air to breathe, her body had been squeezed along an ever-lengthening chute. She had held her breath, too tired to panic, and followed the scene just a few feet above her, where the sky met the earth.

Two earthbenders. She knew them. Recognized their stride, their style, and the resonance of their voices. The elder beat back the things that had been seconds from making a meal of her. The younger cradled her body in the earth and dragged her away. He was gentle about it, almost with a light flair that seemed utterly contrary to the essence of earthbending. She had mocked him for it in the past.

Even as she was drawn from danger, she had felt her life oozing slowly from her shoulder. Under so much strain, she had so little vitality left to hold herself together, and the raw flesh (_bloody bug-meat_) she consumed had been doing more harm than good, threatening to drain her last reserves of strength as her stomach rejected the sour, fibrous sinews.

"_You_ should rest, Mom." The voice snapped her back to the present. "I could use a break from the bridge anyway, let me look after her for awhile."

A yawn. "I suppose it has been another long night. Try not to disturb her though, the poor dear."

Gentle steps padded off. Bounced off the walls. She was in a small room, lying on a cot. Or more likely an alcove or cave of some kind. The building, if it could be called that, smelled fresh and hastily constructed. An earthbender's shelter: solid but simple.

"She's tougher than she looks." He may have been addressing his mother, but she must have been out of earshot for something whispered so quietly.

She tried her voice. She had tried a dozen times over the past dozen hours (she guessed), but previously, no sound came out. It hurt too much.

"Wuzzat sposse mean, Mustache?" Toph croaked.

_Ah, success. _It still hurt, as a dull ache instead of a hot lance.

Haru laughed, weakly. His hand fell over hers, an automatic gesture of relief from one friend to another. "I thought you had gone mute, Toph."

"Hwuh?"

"I mean, when you were awake, you were silent... for a whole day."

The way he said it made it sound like she had broken some kind of world record. Toph chuckled, but stopped when pain danced through her chest. She winced, hastened to master the pain, cleared her throat as gently as possible, and focused on not sounding like a drunk from the Gaoling slums. "Come on, I can't be blind _and_ dumb," she managed to say. "Especially with all your yapping likely to make me deaf too."

He laughed, stronger now, and released his grip. "I never thought I'd miss your snarky comments so much."

Toph had no real concept of shadows, dark clouds, or the like, but she still felt like the room had become enveloped, somehow. Haru fell silent, and so was she; the laughter from seconds ago scurried away as startled mice.

"It was bad, wasn't it?" she hazarded to ask.

"Yeah... pretty bad."

"So, I'm down for the count for a while, huh?"

"You... shouldn't get out of bed for a few more days."

"Damn."

"Ha, in a word. Toph, you realize-"

"The tunnel was a nice trick," she interrupted. "You've been training."

"Hm? What can I say? Being told I bend like a little girl was really motivating."

"Well, _I'm_ a little girl, maybe it was a back-handed insult?"

He laughed again, and the imaginary clouds vacated the room. "You mean a _compliment_?"

"Yeah, whatever you softies call those fluffy nonsense words."

He pressed something into her palm, and her fingers reflexively closed over it. A large marble of her favorite rare substance, whatever it was.

"Found this out there. I hope you don't mind: I used your... repeating arrow technique. On some of the more aggressive ones. Seemed the best thing to do, and that space rock of yours is so... willing."

She compressed and poked the extraterrestrial ore back into a thick ring over her little finger. "Thanks for finding it, but we are not calling it the _repeating arrow technique_. Something that bad-ass deserves a more quality name."

"I'm sure you'll think of something." He took a breath, and she was too busy fiddling with her jewelry to interrupt this time. "Sorry I didn't move faster. We heard the noise, came and saw you shooting those things, but there were so many, and my dad and I, we didn't know how to get you out without all three of us-"

"Hey, Fur-lip, it all worked out. No sweat. In fact, be happy I owe you one; the Bei Fongs always pay their debts."

He exhaled. Not quite a sigh. More like ten sighs at once. "Alright, well, glad to see you're recovering."

"Of course I am." She waited for Haru to agree, but he gave only silence. "So, where am I exactly?"

"Oh! Uh, we're in the eastern steppes of the Great Divide."

"Okay... and you're here, why?"

"Well, to make a long story short, a lot of refugee caravans returning home from Ba Sing Se were headed south, far more than the Full Moon Bay Ferry could handle. So Dad and I volunteered with an earthbending relief effort: we're building a big footbridge that stretches from the northeastern edge of the Divide, near West Serpent's Lake, all the way to the southeastern edge which opens to the plains north of the Si Wong."

Again, she was reminded that her geography knowledge was lackluster, but once she pieced apart all the compass directions that Haru just spewed out, even Toph had an idea of the scale. "That is a huge bridge."

"Yeah, but we put in a lot of hours, and we have a couple dozen earthbenders working on it. Should be finished before winter."

"So that was the pounding I sensed the other day..."

"From that distance? No, wait, of course you did. World's Greatest Earthbender."

"Don't you forget it."

She heard the rustle of his tunic as he stood up. "Well, I should get back to work, I'll make sure someone gets some food in here for you."

Her stomach twisted. "It's not some, uh, local delicacy, I hope?"

"No, it's Mom's cartato stew today. Why do you ask?"

_Yes, sweet merciful spuds_."No reason. Oh, and you might want to have some of the earthbenders here on a guard rotation."

"For the crawlers? They'd never be so desperate to attack us with the racket we make every day."

"It'll be story time later, but... you remember what we told you about the Dai Li?"

Like your absent-minded, obnoxious neighbor, the one you regret inviting to the party... the shadow-clouds apparently forgot their purse.

"What about them?" Haru asked, but it was clear from his tone that he already knew bad news was coming.

"Well, hopefully they all got trampled by a boarqupine, but since I don't seem to be that lucky lately, I'm pretty sure they'll follow me here."

* * *

Zuko tensed his grip on the reins as his rhino-drawn wagon lumbered down the dirt road stamped across some rolling foothills; a plume of dry dust roiled behind in their wake. He considered snapping the leather straps along the flanks of the two animals pulling his little entourage along, but he was well aware that their hide was too thick for that to feel like anything more than a mild nuisance. From his training, he knew most riders were firebenders, and many used their element as spurs. Yet even though his mind looped with thoughts of '_can't these blasted beasts go any faster?_', he did not quite have the heart to tread that fine line – between command and cruelty – necessary to press the creatures on harder.

Still, he had at least another day of travel at this rate, and whipping the komodos with fire was likely to become more palatable as his patience wore away. If only Pohuai had eel-hounds! But then, for the longer trip to Ba Sing Se, the rhinos' stamina would probably win time over pure speed. It was a small blessing, at least, that Gaipan was more or less on the way to the city. Did his father not realize that? Or was he racing to a rescue that was already far too late?

No. This was for his uncle, and his _mother_. Maybe a little fire to the backside would be okay? After all, Ty Lee was not here to get upset and scold him for it. Mai would probably not care, and Katara was hopefully quite asleep. And the beasts were trained for it, right?

Overhead, the cry of a dragon hawk caused him to start, interrupting his breath and dissipating the beginnings of a fire whip into a few harmless sparks. _Am I really that on edge?_ Almost immediately, the front curtains of the wagon parted, and Mai crawled out, squinting and shielding her eyes from the nearly midday sun with one hand. The other, covered in a thick falconer's gauntlet, she extended far out to the side.

"That bird has been crowing overhead for at least ten minutes, Zuko. Were you just going to wait until it dropped dead?" Mai asked. Her tone was surprisingly short, and now that he looked at her more closely, he realized that she had just woken up. Her hair was completely undone.

"Um, sorry," Zuko said gently, not nearly so clueless as to rile her when she was still half-asleep. "I guess I've just been lost in thought."

"As usual," she replied, still blinking and searching the sky for the bird.

"I didn't know you practiced falconry," Zuko stated, trying to change the subject.

"Messenger birds are kind of like throwing knives, only they can deliver messages more articulate than 'I want to kill you'."

_That... barely makes sense._ It would be best to just let that comment go unchallenged. Evidently, banging around an uneven road at high speeds did not allow her a very restful sleep, and she had stayed up with him for most of the previous night's ride besides. So he just nodded as she adjusted the glove on her arm. "We'll have to get you your own gauntlet, then."

"Make it black. Or burgundy. Not this vomit brown color."

Most noble girls would quail at the very idea of having the sharp talons of a raptor swoop down anywhere near them, but Mai seemingly made it her daily mission to dispel whatever assumptions he happened to have about the fairer sex. She still sometimes teased him for offering her a pretty shell at the beach. _Never living that one down._

Besides, there was something particularly alluring about the way she leaned out from the wagon's bench, donned in light (but not scandalous) sleeping attire, her back slightly arched, hair free and waving around in the gentle breeze, with his too-large glove enveloping her arm. A scene and pose, if she was willing, he might like to have commissioned by a court painter when they got back home.

The bird squawked and landed heavily on her forearm, and she leaned back against the bench, raising an eyebrow at what was undoubtedly a stupid, doe-eyed expression on his face. He rubbed his jaw, perhaps masking his sheepish grin, but probably not. _My mind is all over the place... maybe I should get some sleep next_.

She plucked a scroll from the sealed canister on the bird's back. A black ribbon adorned the parchment. "It's for you," she said, needlessly. There was the slightest rosy tint to her cheeks, but it could have just been the chill in the autumn air.

Zuko unfurled the message, scanning it quickly. "An update on Azula's whereabouts from Suki." Zuko frowned. "She's in the southern Earth Kingdom... apparently she has help... from a waterbender and an earthbender." He palmed his face. "And she managed to steal their tank."

"The earthbender is probably a Dai Li agent, but what waterbender in their right mind would want to help Azula?" Mai asked.

"I think you just answered your own question." Zuko said, scowling.

"Brainwashed?"

"I can't think of any other likely explanation." He kept reading. "No one was seriously injured, at least, and Suki seems to be taking a page out of Aang's book and noting the theft makes Azula easier to track."

"True, but your sister must know that too," Mai responded.

"What are you two talking about? I never did get to ask where we were going." Katara said, poking her head from the wagon curtains between the two nationals. Zuko noted she appeared even more exhausted than Mai, and though he would never say so aloud, far less presentable. She had not even changed from her workout the previous day, and her blue tribal tunic had the wrinkles to show for it. Though, to be fair, he did not exactly give her any time to clean up, stopping only for necessary breaks.

"Well," Mai started, "basically this adventure across the Earth Kingdom is going to be one family reunion after another. For Zuko, that is."

Katara rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Okay, well, we have Ozai going back to prison, so..."

"We're looking for my mother." Zuko said.

Katara suddenly looked a lot more awake. "What? But I thought-"

"My father thinks I can't save her and Uncle together. But I will." He looked down at the ground speeding past. "I have to."

Katara turned to Mai. "What if it's just a trap?"

"Wouldn't be the first Ozai sprung on us," Mai said with a shrug.

Zuko faced the waterbender. "I have to take the chance, Katara. Please understand."

Katara sighed. "That's exactly what he would be betting on, if this is a trap, but... if it were my mother..." Zuko put a hand on her shoulder. She did not need to say any more.

"Thank you, Katara."

She smiled. It was the first time he had seen her do so since Aang vanished.

"And I promise," he added, "that as soon as I know they're safe, we'll look for Aang. He's my friend, and I'm worried about him too."

The smile evaporated, and Zuko wondered if perhaps bringing Aang up was the wrong thing to do. "Well, where to then?" Katara asked, a bit less warmly.

"Gaipan. It's a colony town," Mai supplied, reaching into a pouch on Zuko's belt and drawing a few scraps of dried meat for the bird still perched on her arm. It did not seem terribly happy about the offering, but fresh strips were not readily available.

Some of the color drained from Katara's face. "I'm... familiar with the place."

Zuko turned to her, eagerly. "You've been there recently? Did you see a kinda tall woman, slim, regal features, long, dark brown-"

"Zuko." Katara cut him off, not meeting his eyes. "Gaipan was destroyed in a flood. I never actually stepped foot in the village. Not that I could have, at the time."

He did not even realize he was pulling hard on the reins until the wagon came to a complete stop, nearly ejecting the three of them from their bench. The dragon-hawk screeched and Mai fought to keep it perched on her arm; she shot a dark glare in Zuko's direction, which he barely noticed for the smoke wafting over his heart.

"No. Don't tell me..." he muttered.

"Wait! Zuko! Let me explain." Katara grabbed his wrist. "There was a dam near the village, and last winter, Aang, Sokka, and I met some kids there. Anyway, the dam was blown up and-"

"What! Who blew up the dam! Was it you three?" The reins in his hands burned clean through, the loose, singed ends flopped to the ground, and the stench of scorched leather filled his nostrils. Katara snatched her hand away, clutching what was surely a stinging palm to her chest.

"No! Well, Aang and I, there were these geysers, but we didn't know what Jet was planning and-"

That was a familiar name.

"These kids." Zuko growled. "Did they call themselves Freedom Fighters?"

Katara seemed to fall away from her panic. "Yes, actually. You know them?"

"We've crossed paths." _Don't light anything on fire, don't light anything on fire_. "So, Jet blew up the dam, and Gaipan was destroyed, drowning everyone in the village? Is that what you're telling me?"

"No! Will you just listen a minute! Sokka never trusted Jet, and he managed to warn all the villagers just in time. No one was killed... I'm just saying that I don't think Gaipan is really there anymore," she finished, quietly.

Zuko launched a column of flame into the air from his lips, partner to his frustrated roar. "Why didn't you just say so!"

"I was trying! You wouldn't let me finish!"

"You two are upsetting the bird," Mai deadpanned. "Also, Zuko, you might not want to light beacons in the air."

In her indirect way, Mai had a way of soothing his fury. There were times when her eagerness to point out his stupidity grated on his nerves, but then, it was an effort she rarely made for anyone else.

Katara squeezed behind Mai and hopped off the wagon. "I saw a stream not too far off the road, I'll be right back, okay?"

"Katara!" Zuko called out. "I'm, sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's only a little red, you just caught me by surprise. I'll only be a couple minutes." With that, Katara strode behind the wagon and out of sight. Zuko hunched over, exhausted, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"She knows it wasn't intentional." Mai said, touching his cheek with her free hand.

"I know. I just... shouldn't have lost control like that. I thought I had mastered my anger."

Mai laughed, a light, barely-there chuckle, but a laugh just the same. "Zuko, you wouldn't be who you are without the occasional dramatic explosion."

Zuko glared at her, or tried to, but found the expression required too much effort. "I guess."

"She should be safe, then, if Sokka got there in time to have the town evacuate."

He was just a breath away from sobbing. If Sokka had saved his mother, however unknowingly, he was going to give that man sole ownership of an entire royal cattlefarm. But if she was left behind by the villagers...

"There might not have been enough time. In an evacuation, who's going to think of the safety of prisoners?"

"Stop this, right now." Zuko looked up, met Mai's eyes, and glimpsed the anger there. "We're going to go to Gaipan and see what we find. And since we have this hawk, we can send a message ahead to Ba Sing Se, maybe warn someone that the Dai Li are active again, and they can help look for your Uncle." Her lips crashed against his, hard, and she mumbled into his mouth, "No more sulking."

It was too exhausting to sulk anyway. He managed a wan smile. "Okay. Do you mind driving the next leg when Katara gets back?"

Mai settled herself and thrust the bird onto Zuko's shoulder. Its talons poked through his cloak a bit, and he swore he caught her smiling just a little bit when he flinched. "Sure. Feed the bird. I'll write the message and get changed."

* * *

_Sore_ was a word that described her in more ways than one. Her temperament? Definitely. Just because Suki had been able to put a positive spin on the loss of most of their equipment did not mean it was not a blow to her warrior's pride. Her body? Also yes. Sleep came in too-short clips, as she and her team tried to catch up to a steam-powered tank with their recently acquired ostrich-horse mounts. The tank was at least three times as fast, so the only way to make up the time was to push both beast and riders to their limits. A delicate balance, considering the need to save energy for an actual encounter at the end of the chase.

Some of her girls were handling it better than others. Yumi, who also had a case of the sniffles from being frozen in ice a few days ago, never rode on an animal before in her life. She managed to keep it under control, but her visage screamed misery. The fastidious girl already lamented her unkempt hair, so add in the musty bird scent to her clothes and smeared face-paint under her nose, and it was no wonder she had not broken down into a fit yet. At least the others had the sense to give her some space.

Iru was clearly afraid of her ride, keeping low and holding on as if expecting it to buck her off at any moment. At a glance, her small body could have easily been mistaken for a courier package on the beast's back.

Osha, always looking out for the younger warriors, attempted to lead Iru's mount along while also guiding her own. A noble gesture, if Osha had any more experience riding animals beyond the year when she lived on a farm with her aunt. Poorly hidden behind her stoic expression, the girl was clearly in some discomfort.

Hei-lin, using the method she applied to most problems, started out dominating her mount more than riding it. This produced mixed results: while the first stretch of the chase went along smoothly for her, eventually the creature had enough of Hei-lin's bruising 'course corrections' and started trying to buck her off. Kanima had already traded with her, which meant that even though the she knew how to handle the animals, she had to get it calmed down from an ornery state first.

Since Kanima was the only of her original squad who had any real riding experience, she kept in fairly good spirits, and tried to spread that cheer to the others, with Ty Lee's help of course. Ty Lee, not surprisingly, rode like a circus performer, as often hand-standing on the back of her conveyance as sitting upon it, grinning all the while. At first, the antics of the pair was good for morale, but even Suki had to admit after many, many hours of riding, it was getting on her nerves.

But she could not lose her composure. She was the leader, and all her girls were following orders to the letter, if executing them with their own particular idiosyncrasies. Things were going about as well as she could expect, but she had already decided that whenever they got back to Kyoshi Island, she would add mounted combat training into their regimen. That subsequent generations would either thank or curse her, she had no doubt.

The sloping, dusty hills north of Nan Shan – and therefore even farther north of the river with the same name – made travel relatively easy for the mounts, which was a plus. Unfortunately, the mostly unobstructed terrain also allowed Azula to drive northward at full speed. The only time the ruts gouged in the earth ever deviated from a nearly straight line was due an apparently over-compensating reaction to a smallish boulder, or when the engine was clearly stopped for rest, or perhaps repairs.

What was more unfortunate, however, was the utter drudgery of the landscape. Instead of brilliant green conifers, there was an assortment of brown scree. Instead of a raging river, they occasionally came upon a murky, brackish pond. Instead of white-capped mountains, there were only yellowish mounds. Suki found herself almost wishing for bandits, just for something to break the monotony.

Plus, it was hot. This stretch of the southern Earth Kingdom was barely north of the equator. The lack of serious greenery or cloud cover this time of year made the nights rather cool, but the days were about as hot as anywhere in the Fire Nation. It would not be the first time that Suki had considered proposing a change to their traditional uniforms, at least for field missions like this. The thought was practically blasphemy, but she had to admit that working as a guard for the ferry, or operating incognito in beachwear, made her appreciate the benefits of fighting in lighter armor, or none at all.

"Captain!" Hei-lin shouted from the front of their cavalcade. "There is something ahead between those two hills, about a mile!"

As her kinswomen turned for orders, Suki held up a hand, gesturing to stop.

"It's glaring... glittering... glistening? Something that starts with a 'G'..." Ty Lee wondered aloud.

"Glimmering?" Osha offered.

"Yes! Glimmering!" Ty Lee exclaimed, and were they both grounded Suki was certain a crushing hug was in the cards for Osha.

"Glimmering, like a big chunk of metal," Kanima supplied.

Suki agreed. "Dismount ladies. We need to approach quietly."

As her warriors slid off the ostrich-horses with what was either groans of misery or sighs of relief, Suki considered a strategy. Assuming Azula and her cronies were still in or around the tank, there was a chance they had already been spotted. But they could use the hills and approach from a blind direction.

She took her spyglass from a satchel at her bird-horse's flank and tried to get a better look at where the tank was settled.

It appeared that some attempt had been made to conceal it, but then aborted for the futility. Otherwise all was still. Wedged between two hills in what amounted to a sort of shallow valley, Azula had created her best option for a last stand.

She considered the animals. Suki could picture Azula using her earthbender to tunnel beneath them, and then steal their transportation _again_. Falling for the same trick twice would be devastating, so she could not leave them unguarded or under-guarded. Splitting the team into three and four seemed logical, and yet against three benders they had the best odds remaining as a large group. She needed to be clever.

She needed Sokka here. In fact, when she saw him again, she planned to draft him into the Kyoshi Warriors, _permanently_. Kyoshi tradition, the South Pole, international politics, and rebuilding the world be damned.

Of course, Great-Uncle Oyaji might take exception to that, as would Sokka's father.

She mentally smacked herself. _Don't be so dependent. You're not a master strategist, but you _are_ a woman of action. So act!_

"Kanima, is it possible for you to lead the other six ostrich-horses around in a wide circle?" Suki asked.

"Well, I couldn't hold on to all the reins that way, but they'll follow me as long as nothing spooks them. Nan Shan seems to train pretty good steeds. In fact none of the newbies in the group would have had a chance otherwise." After a few glares her way, Kanima added. "What? No offense girls, I'm just saying."

"Okay." Suki cut in. "Circle once, about a half-mile radius, then turn and join us. By then, the surprise will be gone anyway, if we even still have it."

"Sure thing, Cap." Kanima answered with a grin, leaping back onto her mount. The rest of the girls winced, except for Ty Lee, who waved as Kanima led their mounts away.

"As for us, better loosen up quickly, because it's time for a little jogging."

Suki and the rest of their squad made reasonable time, using the approach as an opportunity to get blood flowing to the legs and work some of the stiffness away. Even with the heat and in full armor, it was a welcome contrast to the constant bouncing from riding for so many hours. As they approached from the left-flanking hilltop, Suki motioned for her team to crouch down low and stay quiet.

She listened. Nothing. They had the high ground, which would help somewhat, even though the presence of an earthbender meant high ground could become low ground very suddenly. At least there was no open body of water this time, which hopefully meant the waterbender was a lesser threat. Azula herself was a wild card, her firebending seemed to be fluctuating in strength each encounter, but the princess was no slouch in hand-to-hand anyway.

Suki slid down to the top of the tank alongside Iru, who slowly drew her katana. Though Iru was often the meekest warrior of the group, she was a fierce, cold warrior once her blade was in hand. Seeing as the youngest of their group was also their best swordswoman, Suki often wondered if it was possible to send her for training with Piandao. Thoughts for another time.

Hei-lin and Yumi dropped down next, curling to the front of the tank, while Ty Lee and Osha crawled down the rear. Hazarding a glance over the edge, Suki noticed that the trailer compartments were wide open, leaving two points of entry. _Trap, obvious trap._

She would take point. The last attempt at Azula's capture resulted in Iru losing a lot of blood (from a mysteriously absent head-wound) and Yumi getting sick. Though her girls insisted she took too many risks, a complaint that only doubled in volume from when she took a nasty burn and fell off a roof in the Fire Nation a few weeks ago, Suki would never send her girls into something she would not go into herself.

And so, she flipped through the open hatch and rolled into a defensive stance, snapping her fans open. Iru followed a second later, her blade gleaming in the dark interior of the train from the light cast through the open portal. A few more moments, and Ty Lee slid open the door adjoining the two train-cars, Osha at her back, and she answered Suki's querying look with a shrug. Hei-lin and Yumi appeared at the side hatch next, their presence announced with Yumi's wet sneeze.

"Spirits bless you!" Ty Lee chirped.

"If this is a spiritual blessing, next time they can take their blessings and just go fu-"

"Quiet." Suki said, an order that sounded more like an fatigued mother than a commander.

"So, they're not here," Hei-lin said. "There are three sets of footprints outside, heading north, but the trail vanishes not even a dozen yards out."

"And look at this," Osha added, staring at the wall. "There's a map here of the area, three locations circled..."

"Let me see." Suki strode forward and glanced at the map. "Full Moon Bay, The Serpents Pass, and The Great Divide. Three different ways north." With some effort, Suki resisted the urge to punch something. She did not need to add a broken hand to all of this. "She's taunting us, or she's baiting us to split up."

"I cannot wait to slap the smugness right off her face," Hei-lin said, cracking her knuckles.

A rumble of taloned feet stamped the ground in address: Kanima was coming in. Once their transportation was tied up and fed, the girls all split up, looking for any other clues and checking what supplies Azula had not pilfered, which was not much. The tank was completely out of fuel, making it pretty much useless to them aside for being a convenient shelter for the moment.

"Hey, she took my new outfit!" Ty Lee screeched.

"It was kinda tacky, Ty Lee," Kanima said with a smile.

"I liked it. It was practical," Osha said, and Ty Lee beamed.

"I can always commission more next time we're in the Fire Nation," Ty Lee said as she fell into a very uncomfortable looking, pretzel-esque floor stretch. Or whatever it was she did.

Suki allowed her girls to banter a bit. It was as good a time as any for a rest, and if it was one thing Suki learned from her boyfriend, it was the power of humor, even if it was sometimes lousy humor. Unfortunately, as she stared at the map and its mocking red lines, Suki was in no mood for a few jokes. Azula was dangerous, and allowing her to slip away would be unacceptable.


	22. Familial Impact: Part II

Chapter 22: Familial Impact: Part II

_Skrrrrrittttch._ The boarquill pen marked a final stroke at the bottom of the missive. The implement was not quite as elegant as the brushes used in the old Earth Kingdom court, or even Fire Nation calligraphy, but they held a certain appeal in the crisp, minimal lines they could create. Nothing was wasted. No undue effort. No flash. Just a tool doing its job, and doing it well, the way all tools should operate.

A pair of wooden blocks held the parchment spread, exposing the ink to the air. Somewhat unnecessary, since the thin lines dried so quickly, but old habits died hard.

A slight cough disturbed the otherwise total silence in the room. Apparently, his subordinate was growing impatient. Such a lack of discipline would have been unheard of mere months ago. Of course, this particular subordinate would never have qualified for the Dai Li either. Alas, like the earth itself, life could stay still and constant for ages, only to suddenly go end-over-end with one good shake.

"What news do you have for me, Agent?"

He heard the sigh of relief. "Our operations outside the wall have resumed without further incident. Or at least, without incidents beyond those we intend."

Lack of honorific. _Let's see if he can take a hint_. "Very good. And of the interlopers?"

"The tribesman and his ally are being... processed. Unfortunately, the Earth King is too heavily guarded at the moment for us to reach. The other children seem to have disappeared into the Lower Ring."

"Make certain they are all found. This plan has little tolerance for loose ends, and I have less for failure."

"Of course."

He set an expectant look on the agent.

"Uh, I mean, 'of course, Sir'."

_Better_. "What of the tea-maker?"

Hesitation. "We nearly have him, though I'm told it was necessary to bring a different Joo Dee in to cover the menial tasks. Apparently, the old man was making some attempt to establish a rapport with the first woman whenever they were alone."

"Interesting. Even in dire circumstances he maintains that ridiculous old lecher act?"

"I'm not certain it's an act, Sir."

"Make sure the previous Joo Dee has not been compromised. Recondition her if need be. We have so few left, and they _are_ so useful."

"Understood, Sir."

"You are dismissed."

No motion to move away. "If I may ask... why do we not simply _dispatch_ these pests?"

_What is it with this man and that word?_

Long Feng stood from his desk. The viridian light illuminating his current, makeshift office cast putrescent shadows over his face. He affected his best, patronizing smile, and the grizzled thug-cum-agent seemed to unravel a bit.

"Because, I hate to waste perfectly good resources, particularly now, when we need all the resources we can get. Now, carry out your orders."

The likely-temporary agent bowed and departed, leaving Long Feng to his silence and the tainted light of the brazier behind him. It always amused him: what had started as his personal preference – adding sassolite mineral to his family fireplace – had in recent years evolved into a sort of Dai Li tradition. There was rarely an open flame in any Cultural Authority building that burned with a natural orange hue, unless it was being used to cook something. It was a pleasant reminder of his own influence.

In time, the whole world would burn green.

* * *

If she were to be honest (which was uncommon), the plan was severely lacking in cleverness, but given the circumstances, there was inadequate time to consider anything too elaborate.

"Are you certain it was a good idea to leave clues to our route behind?" Ghan asked.

"Of course. I did so intentionally," Azula replied.

"Do you _want_ to get caught?"

"No, I _want_ to provoke their leader into making an error. You're still sweeping, aren't you?"

"What makes you think that would work?" A rush of loose grit. "And yes, I am."

"Oh, she and I go way back," Azula stated with a smirk. "And besides, I'm a people person."

That earned a snort from Mijo, who otherwise remained silent.

Azula could have opted to travel to a fourth location _not_ indicated on the map, but by now even those fan-wielding island savages must have determined she was heading north, to the colonies, where she had the best chance of blending in and disappearing. Alternatively, perhaps they would expect something more sophisticated from her, and look for a fourth trail that did not exist. In that light the plan was actually far more clever. She had raised the bar so high that they would never expect her to use a ruse so simple. Brilliant.

That is, assuming her brother had not done something completely idiotic, like returning the land to the Earth Kingdom unconditionally. She would have to stop by a town at some point and determine if the colonies were still a viable destination.

They were on foot now, plodding along some sparsely vegetated highlands. Here and there would be a cluster of coniferous trees, or some scrub brush, or a briar patch; mostly the terrain was rock and dirt. As such, Azula was tempted to think religious thoughts for the blessing of actually having a decent pair of boots, especially considering Mijo was now wincing with every barefooted step, and Ghan's cloth-wrapped soles were hardly doing better. But then, that was what a healer was useful for.

She had spent every last drop of her energy powering the tank, then had Ghan feed it every scrap of coal from the reserves and any bit of lumber they could find (which did not work very well) while she rested, then powered it herself again for good measure. Her firebending, on the second run, became erratic again, eventually sputtering out entirely, even though she felt she had plenty of energy left to burn. It was like she had a surplus of fuel and heat for her fire, but someone kept sucking all the air away at seemingly random intervals. Or perhaps that she had a roaring flame, but someone kept throwing a heap of ice on top of it. But it was all happening inside her.

"Ilah, could we stop a min'? Mah foot's bleedin'."

Unfortunately, frustration did not make for a very good source of firebending, or Azula would be at the top of her game.

"Wait until nightfall. We should cover as much distance as possible while we still have daylight."

"Ilah, she's in a great deal of pain," Ghan said with an insistent tone, "and I think I have blisters on my blisters."

Azula stopped and turned around. Mijo's left foot was indeed bleeding a little, and she was favoring the right. Ghan had already supplied her his ankh as a sort of make-shift crutch. "Pain builds character, was that not the point of striking her hand the other night? Besides, healing once we've made camp will be all the sweeter if we press on now."

Ghan scowled. "You missed the point of penance entirely then. However, since you're such a fan of bargaining, how about this: either we rest and heal now, or I'm going to conserve my energy and refrain from sweeping our tracks away."

Azula rolled her eyes. "That would be just as much a detriment to you as it would be to me. Those warriors will surely want revenge now that you've attacked them."

Ghan did not so much as flinch. "Then you can appreciate how serious I am."

"It's no big deal, hun. We can go a bit more."

Ghan spun on the older girl. "Mijo, you may think you owe Ilah a life-debt, but that does _not_ grant her the right to make you suffer all along the way!"

"In the time it took for this little display, she could have been half-finished anyway!" Azula spat. "Mijo, heal yourself quickly, and Ghan too while you're at it, since I know he'll complain next. I'll go for a little reconnaissance behind us, make sure we haven't been followed. Ten minutes."

Azula made a show of storming off as she rounded a nearby boulder. Well, she _was_ a bit angry, and she _was_ about to gather some information, but not about their pursuers. She needed to assess how much longer she would hold the loyalty of her current entourage, and act accordingly. Eavesdropping was an activity too valuable to ever be beneath her.

A minute or so later, she heard Mijo moan in relief. "Ahh. Much better."

"I do not understand why you waited so long," Ghan said.

"Well, I reckon she had a point, hun. Now gimme yer feet."

"I also do not understand – hmm, that kind of tickles – why you feel so obligated to her. Surely you've paid any debt to her ten times over by now?"

"It's complicated, hun."

"Enlighten me, then."

There was about a minute of silence.

"Ghan, don'tcha think it's funny how two of us are so good at some of our bendin' and so bad at other bits?"

"You mean how I can knock over other earthbenders twice my size, but can't build a simple shelter, or how you can heal so effectively, but strain to make ice? It's simply a matter of natural talent, which we happen to have focused into very specific disciplines." Ghan sighed. "And it is also making life difficult these days, so, no, I don't find it particularly funny. "

"That's because yer a sour puss. But Ilah, her firebendin' is all over the place. It ain't supposed to be like that. She has power far beyon' what we seen."

"You are certain?"

"Sure as sugar. When I healed her in the swamp... something was wrong. Pathways, blocked or broken or something, like a road with a mudslide. But I could tell, lookin' at the roads, they were once grand."

A thoughtful hum. "Very poetic, Mijo. But you didn't really answer my question."

Another sigh. "Like I said, it's complicated."

"Very well. I won't pry. But, I do not trust her. She's violent and almost comically selfish. She has yet to make good on her word, and in my tribe, a promise is not made lightly."

"Y'all don't hafta stick around. Not that I mind yer company, reckon."

"I'm... aware of that, but Ilah was at least correct in that I truly have no where else to go at the moment. Besides, I said I'd help you escape if you accepted penance for your theft, and you did, so at the very least I am obligated to keep my word to _you_. Like I said, promises are not made lightly for my people."

"We might be escapin' for a long time, hun. Don't ya wanna go home?"

"I'm... not certain that I could."

"Oh."

"We have a word in the desert: _saugandhaenilahar_."

"Uhhh..."

"It means 'oathbreaker'. That's what I am now, as a priest of the sand, who has attacked his own tribe."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. I believe, in the eyes of Fei Hyo, if I had allowed those men to... it was clear to me which oath was the greater to uphold."

"Still, I'm sorry. It was mah choice that put y'all in that position in the first place."

"Perhaps. I have a feeling they would have done something which would force me to act eventually."

Mijo laughed a bit. "Ya know, fer a kid, yer awful adult."

"Um, thanks?"

With the conversation fully into the realm of the inane, Azula slipped away and decided an actual quick look around would be a good idea. It would also give her a little time to think.

_So, Ghan is easy. He has a code of honor, and if it is one thing I learned from my brother, it's that honor is a trivial thing to exploit. But, also like Zuzu, he doesn't trust me. Perhaps if I share my 'story' with him, he will lower his defenses a little. And 'comically selfish'? I might call it 'aggressively pragmatic'. He's only useful as muscle right now anyway, which is not too difficult to replace._

_ Mijo, on the other hand... 'complicated'? I'm no closer to understanding her than when we first met, it seems. She's a variable, which is frustrating, but a valuable one. Especially if she has some inkling of why my firebending is so sporadic. Between my intellect and her senses, I'm certain a solution can be found._

Azula completed a lazy, uneventful half-circle before returning to Mijo and Ghan. Both were sprawled out in the dirt, apparently half-asleep.

"It's time to get moving," Azula said.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm gettin' up," Mijo grumbled. The sandbender followed suit wordlessly.

"We'll make camp just before dusk, and then, Ghan, I believe it's story time."

She suppressed a laugh at the hopeful gleam in his eyes.

* * *

It was getting dark, and kind of cold, and her armor was all sweaty and her face paint was cracking, and her ostrich-horse was not very fun any more. It was only her and Kanima riding together now, and due to the eldest warrior's riding expertise, she would be the least impressed by her mounted antics. The short break they were having now was hardly refreshing, although it did feel good stretching on solid ground a bit.

"No. Freaking. Way."

Ty Lee snapped to attention, or as much as she could with her ankles behind her head. "What? What is it?"

"Were you just _frowning_?" Kanima asked.

"Um, maybe?"

Ty Lee unfolded like a paper crane in reverse.

"You do not _frown_, Ty Lee. It's like a crime against nature." Kanima had an expression like she was scolding a toddler, but her aura...

"You're teasing me!" Ty Lee adopted a mock-pout.

"Guilty!" Kanima sang. "But seriously, what's got you down?"

Ty Lee plucked at the hem of her uniform. "Well, I'm just really uncomfortable, you know? I didn't grow up in this armor."

"Hm." Kanima drew very serious, which was rare enough for the best-humored of Suki's warriors, and the color arcing around her shoulders spoke of... anger and hurt? "I was under the impression you liked the fit."

"Wait, why are you mad? I was just saying I'm kinda sore, and itchy, and I... guess I sound like a spoiled brat right now."

There was an swollen moment of silence, and then Kanima burst out laughing, which was far more normal, even though it did not seem to be entirely appropriate to Ty Lee at the moment. "Oh, Ty, I thought... you meant the armor is _literally_ uncomfortable. Of course you did!"

Ty Lee cocked her head. "Well, yeah. What did you think I meant?"

Kanima slowly stymied her laughter and replied with that slow blink people sometimes gave her, which meant she had said something just a little bit stupid.

"I thought you meant that you were having regrets about joining us."

"What? No way!"

"Even though we're chasing your childhood friend with the intent of locking her away in prison for the rest of her life?"

Well, that was certainly the question. Ty Lee could have expected such bluntness from Hei-lin, or Suki, or even Yumi, but Kanima always seemed to just laugh everything away.

"Would you be mad if I told you I had mixed feelings about that?"

Kanima smiled. "No. I'd say it was a very honest answer."

"It's just that... well, Azula was always kinda mean. But she used to be nice sometimes too, before I ran away to the circus. We really _were_ friends. She encouraged me to pursue my dreams, even though she made fun of me for changing my mind every week. But something happened while I was gone. She got meaner. Maybe if I had stayed with her-"

"Stop. What the princess or anyone else chooses to do with their lives is their choice. You are certainly not responsible for keeping a girl like that from becoming 'meaner'."

"I... I know. It just isn't fair. I want everyone to be happy."

"So do I, Ty Lee. But it's not often possible."

"Yeah..."

Kanima hopped back on her pony-bird. They would continue northwest, towards the Great Divide. Suki and Hei-lin went north, to the Serpent's Pass. Osha, Yumi, and Iru turned northeast to check Full Moon Bay. Suki was not too happy about splitting up, especially considering Azula may want them to do exactly that, but it was the best way to cover the most ground. The likely places for Azula to hide would either be Ba Sing Se or the colonies, and whichever team found her first had standing orders not to engage, and simply send a message to the others.

Ty Lee was uncertain whether she wanted to be the one who found Azula or not.

"Kanima," Ty Lee called to her friend and comrade as she mounted up. "I just want you to know, even if I'm uncomfortable sometimes, all of you are like sisters to me. I count myself lucky to be friends with you and the rest of the girls, and honored to wear the armor of Kyoshi."

"Even if it hides all your skin from the boys."

"Yeah, even if- hey! You know, if you're going to bring _that_ up, I have some ideas."

"Ty Lee, Suki would _never_ let us wear armor that leaves our midriff, legs, and arms bare. You couldn't even call it armor anymore."

"We could call it 'light gear', ya know, when it's more important to be fast!"

The senior warrior shook her head, but it did not hide her grin.

Ty Lee affected a mock-pout. "Spoil-sport."

"Well... maybe we could convince her for festivals," Kanima said, still grinning.

* * *

He could not move his arms, nor his legs, nor even his head. Especially not his head. There was some kind of pressure, in a ring around the crown of his skull. He was cold; colder than felt natural. Too cold to be survivable, it seemed, but he was still breathing. They had given him something – no – forced something down his throat. Something bitter. It chilled his breath. It _chilled _his _breath_.

There was a woman, familiar and not, with eyes a little too wide and a smile to match. She had dark hair – they all did – but this one's was particularly lustrous. Wait, no, that was the other one. This one's hair was actually a little ratty. Pity. And the curves on the other; oh the curves. _Wait, no. Inappropriate._ Some part of his mind chastised him for the lewd thought, and _another_ part of his mind wondered where the other part came from. _There's something more important than the curves_.

Light was at a premium. A few dull crystals gave the only means of vision most of the time. Unless they brought in _that_ light. _That_ light, he could do without. He would rather be blind forever than have to watch _that_ light move in circles again. Well, he would accept blindness right after he punched the brains out of the man with the pointy hat. He talked too much, and always about the same things. _So hungry_. Prisoners should still receive food, should they not? I mean, no need to be so cruel. Just a little meat. Wait, no, meat is bad. _No it isn't, meat is glory_! As long as you don't eat it. _Oh damn, here he comes._ _That _light is spinning around. Not again. _Not again! And where are my pants?_

"AH!"

He gasped for air, which, for an airbender under duress, meant that he created a miniature tornado and funneled Appa's loose hairs into his throat. Aang hacked up the offending filaments and spat them away from the edge of the saddle, into darkness.

He must have nodded off. The itching sensation from Iioru's poison had long since disappeared, but he still felt drowsy too often.

It was night, and there was not a sliver of bright light to be seen, either above or below. Only the vaguest, midnight-blue outlines could be made of the terrain, and while the mountains were obvious enough, the flat parts could as easily be ocean as they may have been plains.

"Did you swallow a bug, Avatar?" Iioru asked, in a way that belied no actual concern.

The swordsman was balanced atop Appa's head, wind from their flight whipping at his mundane clothing, with his arms wide apart and the reins clasped firmly in each hand. The Blind Wolfbat form: it was a technique used to read the currents of the wind, to let the natural flows of air guide one around dangerous obstacles in the dark, namely, stone cliffs and peaks. A little like Toph's earth-sensing technique, although only really useful for avoiding large, stationary, and very solid objects.

Aang had forgotten it, or at least had not used it in awhile. He could always just use fire. Produce a light with one hand, slow the air around the flame with the other, and he had a brilliant torch useful at just about any speed.

"No, I... had a bad dream," Aang finally replied, leaning over the front of the saddle.

"Hm."

"Actually, I think it was more of a vision. But it didn't really make a whole lot of sense."

"I'm under the impression visions rarely do."

Aang frowned. "But I'm the Avatar, usually when I have visions it's because something bad is happening that I have to do something about. And I've been having a lot of them."

Iioru shrugged. "Not much you can do if the visions don't make sense. If the spirits really wanted you to respond to something, I think they would make more of an effort to present a clear message."

"I don't think these visions are from spirits. They're about people I know."

Appa descended suddenly, most likely in reaction to a signal from Iioru, and Aang found he had to press himself back into the saddle with airbending or risk falling away. After about a minute of near free-fall, the bison leveled out and landed with a soft thump onto a heap of fine, white sand. Aang found himself suddenly sympathizing with the annoyed exclamations of his friends whenever he pulled a stunt like that.

"A little warning, next time." Aang grumbled. Momo, who actually _had_ fallen away during the dive, landed with a chirrup on Aang's shoulder.

"Apologies, Avatar Aang. We are all trained, but there are so few flying bison back home that only the elite sky-riders are assigned one. I'm afraid I got a bit carried away."

"Well, maybe that kind of maneuver is more of a day-time thing." _Oh man, since when am I the grumpy anti-fun guy?_

Iioru hopped to the ground. "Appa is a magnificent creature, strong and agile. I'm certain a little dive like that was well within his capabilities."

Appa gave an affirmative moo.

"Well, of course, Appa's a great flyer... wait. What about my visions?"

Iioru sighed. "What about them?"

Aang stomped down a slowly increasing urge to throw a glowing tantrum. Momo must have sensed it, because he flew off to hide in Appa's saddle. "You're trying to distract me!"

"No, I'm trying to keep you focused. It's night; I landed to make camp. Tomorrow, we'll reach the home of our people. Are you going to abandon the truth and a chance to meet your kin on the basis of some fuzzy images that popped into your head while you slept?"

"Images don't just pop into my head! They mean something!"

"So you never dream? Clairvoyance is an Avatar power?"

"I'm not saying that..."

"So how can you tell the difference?"

Aang slumped. "I don't know; I just can. Last spring I saw Katara in danger while I was training at the eastern temple, and it turns out she had been captured by the princess of the Fire Nation."

Iioru crossed his muscled arms and adopted a smug expression. "Sounds like that instance was a lot clearer. You saw precisely what you needed to see, and you were conscious when you saw it."

"Well, yeah... but-"

"And these images in your sleep are jumbled and vague. Like a dream."

"What do you know? What if I end up ignoring something really important?"

"Like meeting the survivors of a race who represent one-quarter of what the Avatar is, and even more of who _you_ are?"

Aang balled his fists. He moved his lips a few times, like a suffocating fish, but he had no words. Tears of frustration threatened to erupt from his eyes, but he refused to cry in front of this airbending _soldier_.

"I know more than you think," Iioru continued, softer, which instantly put Aang even more on guard. "Why don't you tell me about these visions, and perhaps together we can determine if they have any meaning."

Aang shot the other airbender a dubious glance, but sat down next to Appa anyway, gesturing for Iioru to sit as well. Iioru carefully settled across from him, his demeanor back to that far-away intensity, like a distant storm.

"The dream I just had, I was in a dark room. I think I was Zuko's uncle for awhile, talking to some lady with bugged-out eyes and a creepy smile, and then I was my friend Sokka, and I really wanted eat meat and hit some guy who wouldn't shut up. And both of them, or me, or... whatever – they couldn't move."

Iioru tapped his chin. "So, you dreamed you were other people, and you were restrained? Sounds like an expression of your wish to be someone else. Possibly that the burdens of being the-"

Aang glared. "Or maybe it means that two of my friends are being tortured in a dungeon somewhere!"

Iioru held up his hands. "Alright, perhaps. I'm only echoing some motes of wisdom from a scroll about dream-reading. What about your other visions?"

He forgot his indignation. "Hold on, hold on. You know how to make itchy anti-bending poison, airbend with a sword, and... interpret dreams?" Aang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As I've said, there's a library back home," Iioru replied, completely stone-faced, as if that was all the explanation that was necessary.

"Right. Okay, other visions." Aang took a deep breath. "So last night was the first I got that was of Iroh; I knew it was him because he's a little flabby again and has this big grey beard which felt weird on my face, even though it wasn't _my_ face. Sokka I've seen before, he was in the woods or something the last time but seemed okay, but last night he was really bothered by light that moved in circles. Katara is with Zuko still, but it didn't seem like they were in any dungeon, and I think Zuko's girlfriend is there too, but I only saw her through Zuko's eyes, which is actually a kinda strange sensation because one of his eyes doesn't quite work right – oh, forget I said that. Toph might have been tunneling underground, and she seemed really scared but then not and very restful, so I think she just had a nightmare or something." He took another deep breath. "Some of these visions I see what _they_ might be seeing, and others I'm just kinda floating there, like an invisible observer-"

"Stop! Stop!" Iioru shouted. "You have the lungs of a master airbender, that much is certain." He pinched the bridge of his nose, and Aang wondered if that was something Iioru had always done, or if he had picked up the habit from Zuko. He figured it was unwise to ask.

"Alright, so, what do you think?" Aang asked instead.

"Well, I know some of these people, but not others. What do they have in common?"

"Um, they're all close friends?"

"So, you're dreaming about your friends then. Seems pretty normal." Iioru said dismissively.

Aang frowned. "Not all these visions came when I was sleeping, you know."

Iioru shrugged.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I had some visions of people that definitely aren't friends: Azula and Ozai."

"The princess and the former Fire Lord? What did you see of them?" Iioru asked.

"Well, Ozai lost a swordfight to Zuko-"

"Did he survive?"

"I think so."

"Hm. Go on."

"And Azula, she's..." Aang looked up at Iioru.

Iioru was _way_ too interested in this now. He was trying to play it off as just being attentive, but Aang could see the predatory gleam in his eyes. He had almost forgotten his company; this was a man who wanted revenge for genocide. This was a man who has no scruples about taking a life.

"She's lost on some remote island. It's all kind of fuzzy."

Iioru hid his disappointment well, but knowing someone was a spy and a killer made all the little hints very obvious. "Hm. I see. Well, I'm afraid it all makes very little sense to me. Even if they are visions, none of them are very clear. If you begin to make a habit of acting impulsively on such opaque messages, you'll go mad. Or at the very least, you'll waste a lot of time. You cannot be everywhere at once."

Aang sighed. "Maybe you're right."

That seemed to end the conversation. Iioru proceeded to unload a tent from the supplies on Appa's back, and Aang decided he would busy himself by setting up a pot of water to boil over a fire. Earthbend a pot, draw water from a nearby spring, gather some tinder and ignite it with a fireblast. He intentionally made a bit of a show out of starting the fire, in hopes of making some sort of object lesson, but Iioru either did not notice or chose to pretend as such.

_What do my friends have in common with Azula and Ozai? Why are some visions clearer than others? _None of this made sense.

Aang stared at the water and waited for it to boil. Then he counted the bubbles as they formed. Did anyone ever notice just how slow this process is?

"Aang."

The Avatar jerked his head away from the pot and stared at the ghostly image of his predecessor sitting across the campfire. "Roku?"

"Have you forgotten you can speak to me – to any of us – at will now?"

There were not any convenient wooden posts or railings to bang his head on, so Aang had to settle for an embarrassed blush. "I've just been so overwhelmed lately. In a way, things were simpler during the war."

"You had an overt enemy, and a clear goal."

"Exactly!" Aang shouted, then glanced warily over at Iioru, who oddly did not react. In fact, he was moving incredibly slow.

Roku followed Aang's eyes. "We're speaking within a seam, Aang. A bubble that is part spirit world, part mortal world, and part _you_. He will not hear or see anything."

"That's a relief."

Roku furrowed his brow. "You do not trust this fellow?"

"Of course not! Have you been paying attention?"

"Oh, Aang," Roku laughed, "the previous Avatars do not see everything you do. It is only when you invoke the Avatar State that we can observe directly, or when you summon us through meditation. Otherwise we can only glean what we know through temporary conduits between the planes."

Aang rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh. Well, actually, that's kinda a relief too."

Roku nodded. "So, what is troubling you? The battle at sea? Yet more senseless bloodshed... but I thought you handled it admirably."

"No, not exactly." Aang sighed. "I've been getting these visions, but they're all jumbled up."

A strange sensation. Something jumped from Aang to Roku. Something bright and flashy. Exactly like one might imagine a ball of memories to be like, if memories were paintings made out of light.

"Hmm, I see." Roku replied, after he appeared to digest whatever Aang sent to him.

"So, do you know what they mean?"

"No, I'm afraid I do not. But I can tell you they'll get clearer as your mastery of the Avatar Spirit improves."

Aang threw his hands up in the air. "I can already turn it on and off without going berserk. I thought you said it was a defense mechanism?"

"It is. We are. But there are degrees of reaction, and other triggers besides immediate danger or trauma to the host. Remember, Aang, the Avatar is the bridge between the mortal and spiritual realms. As such, you are sensitive to anybody or anything in which the two realms both touch. It helps you to find malevolent intruder spirits, exorcise the possessed, and sense those gifted enough to become great sages, monks, shaman, or priests. In the past, Avatars had to deal with spiritual threats far more often than those of mankind."

Aang really wished he had contacted Roku sooner. "Okay. So what does any of that have to do with Azula or Ozai, or my friends?"

"Think about what I said, Aang, and the answer will come to you."

_Typical old man answer!_

The water was boiling. Something splashed into the pot. Aang jumped ten feet into the air. When he settled back to the ground, Iioru was staring at him with bewilderment, and vegetables were roiling in the liquid.

"You are a strange child."

"I was startled, that's all. Besides, I'm part ancient spirit, I'm supposed to be strange."

"As you say. Are stewed roots and potatoes acceptable again? I'm afraid I'm not much of a cook."

"It's fine, I can restock supplies at... wherever we're going, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then."

Sokka always said he thought better on a full stomach. Maybe things would make more sense after dinner.


	23. Familial Impact: Part III

Chapter 23: Familial Impact: Part III

With a long, charred stick, she prodded idly at the crimson coals nested within a ring of chalky stones. Azula had started the campfire, and continued to tend to it, with the scant tinder available. She did not particularly need the heat, and yet, wordlessly, without prompt, she volunteered. Truth be told, it did not even occur to her _not_ to – as the previous argument went – 'use a swordmaster's blade to cut vegetables'. She simply forgot her protest, _forgot_ her principle on the issue. Making camp naturally meant making a fire, and fire was a utility she had covered.

She considered that yielding ground so thoughtlessly would later cost her more, but then, it was a rather trivial thing to take a stand on, was it not? Besides, keeping the peace in her little party surely had some benefits. The old means of maintaining control clearly did not work without the clout of royalty, and the resources of a nation's military, at her back. It was necessary to change tack. Moreover, as Mijo held her bare arms and hands up to the flame, and flashed her a grateful smile, and Ghan for once turned his perpetual glare off, well, she had to admit the simple appreciation for her little gesture was kind of pleasant. Even if it was coming from a pair of dirt dwellers.

Her companions were quiet for the moment, but only because they were waiting for her to speak. To the untrained eye, Ghan was the picture of patience, and Mijo of aloofness. To Azula, they were both so obvious; they might as well have been exploding.

In fairness, this was not a court of rat-vipers. They lacked the practice, and more to the point, they lacked the _motivation_ to be anything but guileless. So, what? Was it some token effort at being polite? Peasants might as well stick to being boorish and direct, it was what they were good at, and at times almost refreshing.

_So, what to tell them?_

"You could try the truth."

Azula ceased poking at the fire. Fortunately, she refrained from doing anything embarrassing, like rolling into a fighting stance, because there was _no way_ Zuko had suddenly appeared from nowhere, sneaked up on the group, and soundlessly sat down next to her. She looked up, slowly, at the imagined source of the voice.

Earlier, Ghan had lumped up the earth into three rough approximations of a bench, which is to say he made three piles of loose dirt. Now, when before there was only one, there sat a pair of people to each pile. Mai shared with Ghan, Ty Lee with Mijo, and Zuko next to herself. The sudden urge to punch the image of Zuko in the face was tempting to indulge, but she did not need Mijo or Ghan thinking she was... unbalanced.

Zuko stood up and tossed a portrait into the fire, humming a tune their uncle was fond of. Ty Lee rolled into a handstand and started to cry, upside-down, tears running into her hairline. Mai just stared at her while she twirled a bloody knife, each spin flicking a sanguine line across her own cheek.

Azula closed her eyes. She focused on the light crackle of her measly fire. Minutes passed. Eventually, the humming, the sobbing, and the wet whirling sounds faded away.

When she opened her eyes again, the specters were gone. She let out a relieved breath. _Will these ever stop?_

Ghan started bouncing one of his knees, and Mijo coughed. Azula considered making them wait longer while she ironed out every last detail of Ilah's imaginary life, but...

"As you may have guessed," Azula said, startling Mijo with the sudden break of silence, "I was born to a very important Fire Nation family."

Nods from the little audience.

Azula went on. "Any person of nobility has certain expectations to live up to, and the higher up you are, the more responsibility you have. Power is something you're born with, and it is the ultimate disgrace to flounder when wielding it. To show weakness is unforgivable; the ultimate disgrace."

They were listening, but Ghan's lip seemed to curl ever so slightly, like he tasted something sour.

"That is the way it is supposed to be," she continued. "My brother sees things differently. Instead of using strength and guile, he's claimed everything that was to be mine with treachery and deceit."

"Oh, very funny, Azula. It's _guile_ when you do it, but treachery for me, hmm? The _truth_; do you even know what that is?"

_ Shut up, Zuzu! _She composed herself quickly. There was no vision of Zuko and his disapproving glare; she could ignore mere voices.

"About six years ago," she continued, banishing Zuko's taunts from her mind, "a series of tragedies struck my family. My noble cousin was slain in battle, and his father – my uncle – mysteriously vanished. Days later, my grandfather, head of house and quite old, died in his sleep. My mother... disappeared. Picking up the pieces, my father took up the mantle and wielded the power of our ilk, as was his right and duty. And, for a time, he wielded it well."

Even Ghan looked mildly sympathetic now. _Good_.

"My father and I had things well in hand, but how could we have foreseen what happened next? Eventually, my uncle returned home, and though he spent an inordinate amount of time with my brother, and exhibited some peculiar habits, it seemed to be of no consequence. A couple years later, my brother made the error of showcasing his incompetence, and was disowned. My uncle went with him. I thought it was an old man's pity at the time."

She looked up. There was a veritable flood of questions dammed at their mouths. Better to forestall them.

"As it turns out, my brother's punishment was far too merciful." She palmed her knees for effect. "This year, _everything_ was ruined. My whole country has been reduced to a nation of craven apologists, and my brother, the worst of them all, returned and seized the family holdings. He and my uncle had plotted to collaborate with foreign powers all along, and now they sit in riches and splendor while I run and hide in the muck!"

Azula caught the scent of something burning besides wood, and glanced down to realize she was scorching the fabric over her knees. The material was surprisingly fire-resistant, but she certainly did not want to be traipsing about with holes in her trousers. She settled herself, and brushed the specks of ash off her legs.

It also meant she lost control again. Sure, the slip helped deliver some emotion behind her obligatory sob story, but perhaps selecting details so close to the truth was unwise, especially if they were so personal. Which was a shame, because it was such a great method for constructing lies.

"And these women chasing us?" Ghan asked, no longer able to hold his silence.

Azula affected a shiver. Nothing too dramatic, of course. "Earth Kingdom assassins; they are from an island called Kyoshi. Clearly my brother thinks I am a threat that must be eliminated." _And now for the finishing blow. _"My brother used subterfuge and lies to steal my entire livelihood. I never even had the opportunity to challenge him."

As she expected, Ghan tensed at the word 'steal'. If words were arrows, she would be Yu Yan.

"What about yer daddy?" Mijo asked. Azula turned to her, and was somewhat confused by the waterbender's expression. She expected the healer to be supportive after that tale, lacking in specifics though it was, even if her sympathy came with her teasing mannerisms. Instead she saw something more akin to... disappointment?

"He was imprisoned, like I was for a time. We both escaped, but... well, my father and I are not quite on speaking terms any longer."

"Y'all had a fight?" Now Mijo's expression was both alarmed and interested at the same time.

"You could say that," Azula answered coolly.

"And yer momma?" Mijo pressed.

Azula frowned._ What of Mother? I never asked Father about what happened, but it's fairly __obvious to me: one murder to prevent another. The thing I never understood was why she left. Officially, Azulon died of old age. Surely she did not _have_ to leave. Was it guilt? Was it fear of reprisal? No, I doubt she would leave her precious son for such petty things. In fact, I'm shocked she did not take him with her, and leave just her monster daughter behind!_

"Azula, sister."

_Zuko, leave me alone!_

"Azula, you left out the parts that matter. That I claimed all of Mother's love and attention. That I threw your mercy back in your face. That I stole the loyalty of your friends, and in the end, I wouldn't even do you the courtesy of ending your life."

_You wanted me to suffer in disgrace, like you did! Well, congratulations!_

"Ilah? Are you well?" Ghan asked.

Azula shook her head. "I will speak no more of this. Did I honor my promise to your satisfaction?"

Ghan nodded. "I would be pleased if you shared more, but I understand why you would be so reluctant to speak of it. Family is the guiding pillar, the well from which our lives spring, and where we first go in times of need. I lost my own long ago, but in some ways, I think that is less painful than having a family so... fractured."

Azula snorted. "Spare me your pity. I told you only because you were so insistent on knowing."

"What happened to yer folks, Ghan?" Mijo asked, before Ghan had an opportunity to be indignant.

He dug his toes into the dirt. "I never knew my father, and my mother died giving birth to me. Since I had no blood family, I was raised by the sand priest caste of the Hami tribe, but mostly by our tribe elder, Karthik. Through him, I learned of Fei Hyo and her teachings."

His eyes drew dark. "Last year, there was a mighty and sudden sandstorm. We were unprepared for a storm of such magnitude, and though our sandbenders, myself included, tried to protect the caravan, we could not save it... I lost my second family that day." He sighed. "Those of us that survived joined with Sha-mo's people. They've been very good to us, but they believe more in trade and commerce than the Goddess. It is just... not the same."

"I'm sorry, hun," Mijo said.

"I find it surprising you've maintained your faith, considering," Azula added. Mijo glared at her, but if Ghan took offense, he did not show it.

"I can see why you would think that," Ghan said, "but the desert is a harsh place. Though Fei Hyo is powerful, there are other powerful spirits that make the Si Wong their home. As the matron of all desert tribes; she cannot be everywhere at once."

_That's funny, I was under the impression that being 'everywhere at once' was precisely the type of power a spirit would have._ Azula wanted to say he was just making convenient excuses for an impotent or callous deity, but she held her tongue. He looked miserable enough already.

"Sometimes," Mijo said, almost a whisper, "mommas just don't do right by her kids."

_Huh._

Ghan jerked his head at Mijo. "Are you implying that Fei Hyo-"

"Hun, forget it, I was jus' thinkin' aloud."

"Did you not get along with your mother?" Azula asked, nearly wincing at her own eagerness.

"Y'all could say that," she replied, echoing Azula's earlier comment.

"Well, come on, Mijo; Ilah and I have shared, it's only fair," Ghan said, gently.

Mijo huffed. "Fine, but there ain't no crazy storms or schemin' evil brothers in it."

"Then you are blessed."

Mijo groaned. "I wouldn't say that, 'xactly. See, us Foggy Swamp folks, we got somethin' like yer desert lady."

Azula rolled her eyes. "They worship a giant tree."

"I wouldn't call it 'worship', more like, deep respect. Unless yer talkin' 'bout Uncle Huu, then mebbe."

"Go on," Ghan urged.

"The swamp's a mighty queer place. Livin' folks see dead folks and old lovers what ain't there, flyin' things got eyes light up in the dark what ain't ought, creepy crawlers make spooky noises day and night, and well, that makes some folks jumpy. It don't help when ya pile old ghost yarns on it all."

Ghan looked a little pale. "Understandable, I think."

"It's a wet hell, basically," Azula said. Mijo replied to her barb with some kind of obscene gesture, clenching her thumb in her fist and dangling a pinky. More amusing than insulting to a foreigner. Still, she filed it away for later.

"Anywho, the Foggy Tribe is really a loose gaggle of smaller tribes. We call 'em 'leafs'. My leafkin were a smidge more 'mystic' than others, if ya catch my meanin'. And all us know stories 'bout fog witches. Not me, mind ya; the monster kind."

She let out an obviously forced chuckle. "Gettin' ahead o' my point though. A fog witch is an old demon who can cure the sick, but always at a terrible price. Like maybe she'd save yer leg from swamp rot, but then pluck yer eyes. She'd be bathed in icy fog, breathin' a cursed life into desperate types."

"My my, that sounds just like-" _Whap._ Azula found herself interrupted by Ghan's ankh striking the ground. _Oh, very well_. "...something terrifying."

"Yeah," Mijo agreed, her mood dropping. "Well, when I was a young'un, I had this knack for healin'. We ain't got no bendin' healers in the swamp fer years, so everyone was happy, until I got too smart fer my own good. Showed all them how good fog worked 'stead o' regular water. Some dunce said 'fog witch', and ain't no one in my leaf ever looked at me the same way, not even my momma and daddy."

"They feared your talent; their loss," Azula said. Mijo met her eyes, but only for a moment.

"Well, they all were afraid, alright. Daddy ne'r let me leave the hut. Momma told me to stop bendin'. I tried. I really did. But one day I had enough, and ran away. Away from the leaf, the tree, and the swamp."

She rubbed at her eyes. "Made some bad calls... but eventually Uncle Huu rescued me. His leaf ain't so damn dumb."

"But they still call you a 'fog witch'," Azula pointed out.

"Uncle's idea. He reckoned that if we said it every day like it ain't scary, it'd catch on with the other leafs. Ain't worked yet though."

"Foolish commoners do tend to be slow on the uptake," Azula muttered.

"Ilah," Ghan turned to her with what Azula was now beginning to recognize as his 'lecture voice'. "Do you believe the superstitious beliefs of Mijo's tribe is any more ignorant than the vainglorious nature of your noble house?"

"Uh, what?" Mijo asked.

"First of all, hearing 'superstitious' come out of a priest's mouth is the driest hypocrisy," Azula snapped. "Secondly, ours is not a vain kind of glory. We _are_ glorious. We have the right to rule. That's just how it is."

"And yet, here you are, a fugitive, with a betrayer for a brother, severed from your parents and everything you've ever known or loved. Powerless."

Azula stood and clenched her fists. "Powerless, you say?" Flames danced around her knuckles.

"Please, stop and listen!" Ghan pleaded. "Why must you resort so quickly to violence?"

_Just kill him. Silence his arrogance and spare the world a font of pious drivel._

"Hun... come on, we're friends here, ain't we?"

_Friends betray you. Kill her too. They're both liabilities._

"You're not a murderer, Azula."

_You know nothing of what this _monster_ can do, Mother!_

"Ilah, just calm down, okay? I apologize for insulting you, that was not my intention."

Azula put her hands to her temples and sat. She could not argue with her mother, in her own head, and these people at the same time. Her vision was swimming.

Ghan took this as a cue to continue. "In Sha-mo's tribe, there is no concept of caste or class. There are never enough resources to create such a barrier, and leadership is earned by deeds instead of birthright. When a new leader takes control, the name of the tribe is changed along with him. The Hami tribe always followed the elder priests and magi, but there is something to be said for a system of merit."

"Wouldn't that be blasphemy?" Azula growled out from behind clenched teeth, willing away the nausea.

Ghan waved away the comment. "I think of it as Fei Hyo's sanction manifesting through the deeds of a person, instead of through title. Ilah, if you were to disregard your heritage and your standing, and measured just your actions, what do they say about you?"

Azula kept her hands on her temples and rubbed at them. "My past deeds paint me as a peerless warrior and a cunning strategist. I accomplished feats that most grown men would never even begin to approach, and all my enemies knew to fear me."

"And yer friends, yer family?" Mijo asked, cutting in.

"I... I was a role model for my entire country."

"That ain't what I asked, hun."

The campfire sputtered out from neglect, the last flames giving way to only the faint glow of dying embers. Azula stared at the remains of their light, feeling her own inner fire growing cold, as if in sympathy.

She did not speak for a long while. After a few minutes, Mijo sighed and curled up by the coals, and Ghan strode away, perhaps for a nightly prayer.

Azula watched the cinders until they all went ashen and dark.

* * *

Mai sighed and waved a hand in front of her face to dispel the wisps of smoke. "Okay, you're not allowed to drive anymore until we get to Ba Sing Se."

Zuko stared with a forlorn scowl at the nuggets of charred leather in his hands, an image only made more comical by the hood and long hair obscuring most of his features, lending him the visage of a depressed poet.

This would be the second time in less than a day that he had burned through the rhino reins. In fact, Katara felt he was running so hot that he might catch the wagon on fire. How Mai could manage to sit right next to him defied her understanding. Perhaps all that metal always on her person sapped her body heat; the knife-thrower did seem to favor heavy clothes, even in the brutal summers of her homeland.

Katara hopped off the bench and gathered the broken reins, granting the animals they were attached to as wide a berth as possible. She had been nearly trampled by their kin so many times; she could not help but feel a bit wary around them. Even without her prior experiences, komodo rhinos were ugly, temperamental, and sprouted wicked horns from their head. Did the Fire Nation have any cute, harmless animals? Turtle-ducks, perhaps, but if Zuko's warning of 'they bite pretty hard' was to be taken seriously, even they could be vicious.

With her deft hands, Katara bound the scraps of the reins together – again – and handed them up to Zuko. Fortunately, knots were something she knew nearly as well as her brother. "If you burn through them one more time, they'll be too short to hold without leaning forward. I doubt you would want to make this trip any more uncomfortable."

Zuko fidgeted in his seat. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that. I'm just... anxious."

Mai snatched the cords from him. "We noticed."

He stared pointedly at Katara's hands as she climbed back onto the wagon. "But that's no excuse."

Katara tried to give him a warm smile, however unconvincing it probably was. "Really, Zuko, it's no big deal; just an accident." She held her palms up. "See? Like it never happened."

He sighed. "Yeah."

Mai snapped the reins and the rhinos continued their determined pace.

This area was not exactly a haven of happy memories for Katara. She wished she had at least come here during a different season, so she could pretend it was a different forest. Alas, she returns to the forest around Gaipan – Jet's forest – to see the leaves sporting the same brilliant reds and oranges as the last time she was here. Some miles back, she spotted the same stream with the same geysers along its banks. Aside from an alarming amount of recently fallen trees, it was just as she remembered it.

Here was where she first realized one did not need to be Fire Nation to do evil. Here was where her own blind faith in heroes nearly led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent people. Here was where she almost lost her brother because of a childish crush, and _oh, how stupid was that hat I made?_

Yet, despite the old regrets, and the weariness brought on by hurried travel on a poorly maintained road, Katara felt a little better this morning. The stream she had walked to yesterday was not only a convenient source of water to heal her reddened hands, but also granted her a quick opportunity to rinse her clothes and hair a bit. It was a far cry from a proper bath, but then, living in the south pole, she'd gone longer with less.

Mai, somewhat to her surprise, adapted to the outdoors rather well. Granted, she, Azula, and Ty Lee had chased her and her friends all through the wilds of the southern Earth Kingdom, but Katara imagined there must have been some amount of royal amenities on board that horrific tank of theirs. Mai had made no secret of her disdain for dirt either. Yet here she was, 'roughing it' with nary a complaint.

Well, at least not about the great outdoors. Mai made a handful of pointed observations about boredom, the smell of the rhinos, the condition of the road, the ambient colors, and Zuko's twitchy behavior. Katara could not help but agree on most points, though. Perhaps she had been a bit spoiled in her travels riding on Appa: the fluffy beast canceled out most turbulent winds with his own airbending, making for a smooth ride, Sokka had a knack for spotting comfortable camp sites, and Aang always made even the most mundane trips feel exciting.

She sighed. _Oh, Aang... where are you?_

Katara did not expect an immediate answer to a question voiced in her head. Yet, when she caught a glint of yellow and orange in her peripheral vision, for a fraction of a moment, she thought it may have been Aang swooping down on his glider. Then she dismissed it as merely a different kind of tree. What she got instead, unfortunately, was a flaming boulder careening perpendicular to the road, leaving a trail of smoldering debris right where their wagon was going to be within the next two seconds.

Mai yanked on the reins, but the rhinos were already digging their heels in anyway. The wagon, though not particularly overladen, was still too heavy to stop quite so fast. The harness frame buckled, the wagon bashed roughly into the leathery rear ends of the pair of beasts ahead, and Katara found herself airborne.

It was all she could do to inelegantly tear the water from her pouches, actually bursting them like pustules from her back, glean a little more moisture from the air as she swung the mass forward, and glob it into a watery, vertical safety net, of sorts. It was a crude form, more reflex than skill, and it still felt like she was flung at a wall at high speed, except the wall collapsed so she could go for a little roll afterwards.

It was a good thing she was soaked, as when she came to a stop, flames were already licking at the edges of her clothing, pushing steam into the air. She could smell burnt hair, so no doubt she lost a few strands, even in spite of the dampness. Nothing felt broken as she staggered back to her feet, but there were definitely a few bruises. She made to pick her way out from the burning stone.

She looked for her friends first. A brief search: Zuko was easily spotted by a line of glowing, scorched earth running from where he now stood, to somewhere into the bulk of the fireball debris ahead. He had slowed himself down a lot more comfortably than she had, no doubt. He met Katara's eyes, and then they both located Mai at once.

The pale girl was a dark heap of cloth and onyx hair, sprawled face down on the ground, directly in front of the injured rhinos. Katara ran to her as Zuko did.

"Ow," Mai said as Katara gently rolled her over. There may have been a thin trail of blood running from her hairline, but it was difficult to tell with all the mud.

"Mai! Are you alright?" Zuko was keeping his head, but Katara could tell he also wanted to explode something.

"I hope Suki was wrong," Mai said.

"What are you talking about? Did you hit your head?" Zuko asked, coming down to his knees.

"Probably also yes."

"This isn't funny!"

"Zuko!" Katara shouted at him. Now was not the time for idiotic banter. "She's concussed. I need someone to stand guard while I look at her. I doubt that was just a random stray fireball."

He hesitated a moment, but then nodded and stood. She focused her attention on Mai.

"Stop flirting with my jerk," Mai drawled out.

Katara paused, then decided to let that disturbing comment pass.

"I didn't let go of the reins." Mai groaned, completely exchanging her line of thought for another, and pointed to her left shoulder with the opposite hand. Katara conjured a blade of ice and cut the obstructing cloth away carefully. The joint was swelled and misshapen.

"Your grip can't be stronger than what it takes to dislocate a shoulder, Mai," Katara said, as she pulled the water from her hair and clothes and concentrated it into a glowing ball. "This happened on the landing."

"Oh."

Katara frowned. "Definitely a dislocation though." She passed the luminescent water over Mai's head. "Bumped your head pretty good too."

"Yep."

"Is she alright?" Zuko asked. "I don't see or hear anyone approaching... yet."

"She'll be fine, I just need a couple minutes," Katara replied, working on Mai's head injury first.

"Interesting sensation," Mai said. "I'm feeling less dumb by the second."

"Your eyes look clearer, that's good."

"Next part is going to hurt, isn't it?"

"I have to make sure your shoulder is back in place before I can heal any damaged tissue."

"Well, better make it qui-" _Crunch-pop_. Katara wrenched the arm back into its socket, and with not even a squeak out of her patient. She moved water back over the shoulder and worked it into the damaged flesh, trying to forget how awful that sound was. It would not do for the doctor to get sick when the patient was so stoic.

"I'll have to do more with follow-up sessions, but I got the worst of the damage. I wouldn't throw with that arm right now though, it looks like it had been injured before the fall too."

"Got hit with an arrow a few weeks ago. You need to work on your bedside manner, by the way. I almost bit my tongue off."

"Bedside manner is for patients in beds, not on a battlefield. Can you stand? Anything else feel broken?"

"I think I'm alright, _Commander_." Mai smirked.

"Well, it takes good health to be sarcastic, so I pronounce you fit for service," Katara shot back, then added, "sorry."

"We have company," Zuko cut in.

Katara looked up in the direction he was pointing and noticed Zuko, despite the rage about to boil over within him, had the wherewithal to disperse the fire from the initial attack. More importantly, she noticed several men and possibly one woman taking up positions along the tree line. They were unarmed, which was hardly reassuring since that likely meant they were all firebenders.

"You are trespassing in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Taku. Surrender or be taken by force," shouted one of the soldiers.

"Taku?" Mai asked, giving her freshly healed arm an experimental lift.

At second glance, Katara noticed some anomalies about these soldiers. Instead of red, hardened leather armor, skull-shaped face-plates, and steel bracers, these fighters sported long, brown coats of some kind of heavy cloth, simple, round helmets, and a curious insignia over the heart: a gray triangle with a yellow circle next to it. Then the name clicked in her head.

"The rebuilding project of the old western Earth Kingdom capital," Katara said.

Zuko seethed. "Yet another loose end to tie up in around here. When I find out who forged my seal-"

"Yield immediately! You will not be asked again!" the same soldier rang out.

"I do not recognize your sovereignty," Zuko said in response, pulling back his hood. Mai palmed her forehead, then immediately winced in pain. "Taku was formed illegally by annexing territory belonging to-"

"They're agents of Ba Sing Se! Bring them down!"

Katara expected the fire. She already had icy globs of water collecting behind her back to counter them. What she did not expect was the hail of stone that came along with it, although she would have to feel stupid about that oversight later.

She dove behind the rhinos with Mai, gathering the water into tendrils along her arms. Katara felt a pang of guilt for using injured, living creatures as cover, even if she did not like them, but now was not the time for such considerations. The volley of fire and stone would be showering them any second.

Except it did not. Katara poked her head over a beefy rump to see that Zuko dove in the opposite direction, and drew their fire along with him. Anything he could not dodge, he kicked or slapped away, even the stones.

Mai raised her good arm, and a series of clicks punctuated each dart leaving her wrist launcher. Some soldiers found their limbs pinned to the thick trees by their clothing, but a few were pinned right between the wrist bones, in the upper arm, or through the ankle, crying out in pain. Whether Mai's injury was throwing her aim off, or if the older girl was slowly losing her patience for non-violent take-downs, Katara did not know.

She shot out with her left tendril and froze a man to the ground. The right tendril she scattered into a brief fusillade of ice to give Zuko a chance to root himself. The Fire Lord immediately took this opportunity to sweep a long arc of fire into the brush, effectively blinding both parties from each other. He joined Mai and Katara behind their ruined wagon, shaking out his hand.

"Deflecting rocks barehanded is crazy," Mai said.

"My sister can do it," Zuko replied.

"We can't stay here," Katara said, passing water over his raw hand. The damage was negligible, rather shockingly.

"We won't. Their firebenders will bring that wall down quickly, we need to circle to their flank, into the trees, so we at least have the same cover they do."

The three jumped up at once and sprinted wide to the left. As Zuko predicted, the blazing wall sputtered and died, followed by a surge of earth at Zuko's last position. But a rock smashing into a branch over their heads just seconds later made it clear they had been spotted again.

Katara rolled away from the fallen limb, finding herself separated from her allies. She slashed out blindly, but without a prepared water source, her attacks were lacking in volume. As she rounded a tree, she nearly ran into a brown-clothed firebender.

The firebender was nearly as surprised as she was, but his blast was still powerful enough to be dangerous. Katara ripped water from the nearby trunk, finding a surprising amount of liquid inside it, and threw the whole yield into the flames and through them, knocking over her assailant and half-drowning him. The gouged tree, completely unstable, groaned and splintered as it fell towards her incapacitated opponent.

She let it fall halfway before deciding to burst all the remaining water inside of it outwards and away, carrying along with it most of the wood mass. The firebender stared wide-eyed at the open air which held crushing death just moments ago, still coughing up water. Katara kicked him onto his stomach and froze his limbs to the ground.

She managed about three steps before having to slide under a stream of fire. Lying on the ground, she felt a pulse beneath her. As she rose, she pulled at it, forcing it upwards and condensing it into a pillar aimed at the new threat. As the firebender was lining up another attack, the stalagmite of ice rose up from the ground and raced towards his abdomen.

She blunted the point into slush at the last second, knocking the man off his feet and stunning him instead of running him through. Drawing another globe of water from some fungus growing over a dead stump, Katara rounded another wide trunk and nearly ran face-first into a mud-man with golden eyes.

"Watch where you're-"

"Get down!" Zuko cut her off, pushing her aside with one arm and launching a condensed pulse of fire with the other, obliterating a boulder which was about to roll both of them into paste. Katara ducked under his outstretched arm and launched the water she had collected at the earthbender in a low wave, taking him out at the legs. She raised the water, and his body with it, off the ground and froze it, leaving only his head sticking out of the stilled geyser.

"Where's Mai?" Zuko asked, wary of the sudden silence, aside from the thick globs of mud dripping from his body.

"Right here, I think," replied a female voice, but it definitely was not Mai. "Surrender or I'll be forced to take her life, and I really don't want to do that."

Katara and Zuko turned slowly. Mai had what appeared to be a stone saber at her throat, but there was no doubt it was sharp enough to slice skin. Katara could see a thin rivulet of blood running from where the blade met her neck.

Soldiers, some in better shape than others, either walked or limped to form a circle around the pair. There were perhaps a dozen, including what must be the commander, although nothing indicated rank other than his demeanor.

"Harm her and there will be no mercy for any of you." Zuko said.

The Taku officer stepped forward. "Surrender, and there is no need for further violence."

"You've been a country for what, a week or so, and you're already starting international incidents?" Katara asked.

"Taku is not a country," Zuko said through clenched teeth.

"Ba Sing Se started this conflict, we had no choice but to rally and defend ourselves," the woman holding Mai said. Watching more closely now, Katara noticed the woman was shaking. She was terrified. In fact, at least half of these soldiers did not carry themselves like soldiers at all.

"We do not represent Ba Sing Se," Katara said.

"And we're not agents," Mai added, sounding as bored as ever even with a sword under her chin. "What would two Fire Nationals and a waterbender be doing as spies for Ba Sing Se?"

"Then who are you?" the officer asked.

Zuko dragged a hand down his face and managed to slough most of the mud off. "You've just attacked the Fire Lord, the Avatar's waterbending master, and my girlfriend... and if you don't let her go _right now_, I'm going to personally bomb Taku until there is nothing left but a _crater_."

A small branch fell somewhere nearby. Someone coughed.

"Real diplomatic, Zuko," Mai said, but the woman had released her nonetheless.

* * *

_I'm part ancient spirit, I'm supposed to be strange._

That was the thought he woke up with, and though sleep did not leave him particularly refreshed today, he did arrive at an answer to Roku's little riddle.

Roku mentioned all avatars have the ability to sense and ultimately track spirits and spiritual energies. The foundation of this ability is rooted in the avatar's nature: he is the bridge between worlds; his non-bending powers are based on spiritual links. The greater someone's spiritual energy, the easier it is for him to form a link. Aang would have preferred it to be something more related to familiarity or even love, but he certainly held no fondness for Azula and he only met Ozai once, and it was not exactly for brunch.

Yue always seemed blinding to him, but he had simply attributed it to her white hair catching the sunlight a certain way. Sokka was touched by Hei Bai. Katara saw the real Painted Lady. Iroh allegedly traveled to the spirit world himself. Zuko and Azula are descendants of an avatar, and Ozai actually had his soul altered by one himself. Aang was not sure how much 'spirit mojo' he himself projected on to others, but it had to be some amount, because he had no other knowledge of Toph interacting with one. It was the best explanation he could come up with.

Maybe Sokka could help with the reasoning, although his friend would probably dismiss it as 'gobbledegook' right out of hand.

"Avatar Aang, are you paying attention?" Iioru asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

"What? Oh, yeah, something about tunnels and... wow that's a huge storm!"

"Yes... that is the Great Whorl."

Although the skies were mostly clear behind them, ahead there were clouds so dense and dark they were practically black. Even at this relatively safe distance, Aang could see tremendous energy in what appeared to be a gigantic hurricane. A hurricane that rotated in place, according to Iioru, for at least two millennium, and probably far longer than that. Mountainous islands poked at its perimeter, rising out of the ocean like stone talons, devoid of life and carved into crescents by the constantly swirling air. Lightning occasionally arced within the maelstrom, forking along the edge of the mass like electric river deltas.

"The Air Nomads... live inside of _that_?"

"Not nomads, but the survivors' descendants... yes."

"Right... so, how do we get in?"

Iioru shook the diagram he was holding in his hand. Momo pawed at it from his lazy sprawl at Iioru's feet. "As I was saying... the storm is not natural. We have not been able to find records that explain its existence, but the currents are highly predictable and consistent. There are routes through it which can be navigated with the assistance of airbending."

Aang cast a dubious glance towards the raging winds. "I got an idea, why don't we go under it using waterbending?"

Iioru shrugged. "That may be possible, but the currents under the storm are just as fierce as the winds themselves. We would be relying on luck like when our people first came here."

"Oh."

"The nearest route entrance is four bison-beats from that peak, flying spin-ward," Iioru pointed at one of the stone claws grasping at the storm. "Once inside, we have to rely on feeling out the air currents, as we'll be nearly blind. It's a matter of maintaining a sphere of calmer air around us as we push through the seam."

"And you've done this before?"

"Actually, no. Passage through the Whorl requires significant power, far more than I have. Usually this means a team of sky-riders. Since our agents on the outside are limited, we normally have to meet with teams at predetermined times to get escorted back in."

"And when is the next of these scheduled times?"

"About three days from now."

"What!"

"But none of this trip was according to my original orders. I've had to improvise. We can go in now, because you have the power of hundreds of airbenders within you. I will simply navigate while you maintain the sphere."

"In the avatar state."

"That's the idea."

"Okay, lead the way." Aang gave a nonchalant shrug, but inside he was knotted up. He did not like storms, and neither did Appa. Katara would kill him if he got trapped in an iceberg for another hundred years. More importantly, he did not trust Iioru any farther than... well okay, he could probably throw him pretty far, but that was besides the point.

"Yip yip, Appa," Iioru said, and Appa grudgingly moved towards the slate gray wall of air. Momo chattered in an agitated manner and dove into the howdah's bundle of cargo.

Within a minute, the winds were already shearing, and Aang brought up a protective sphere. He already knew from experience that he could not beat a tornado alone. Hurricanes, on the average, were not quite as fierce in terms of wind speed as tornadoes, but this was clearly no average hurricane. He would have to use the avatar state soon.

He stared at Iioru's back as the swordsman carefully guided Appa into some invisible port in the chaos. His bison seemed to have lost his reluctance, pressing ever harder forward, perhaps in anticipation of finally seeing some of his own kind again. Aang understood that.

They approached the edge of the Great Whorl. Aang carefully regulated his breath and adopted a flexible stance, one that rooted him solidly. He called upon the power of his predecessors, and they entered the breach.

Immediately, Aang's world, visually, was confined to the inside of the air sphere. The heavy moisture and debris within the Whorl might as well have been mortar, for all light managed to pass through it. As it was, the only thing that provided any illumination within their bubble at all was undoubtedly Aang's own glowing.

The force of the current was enormous, but well within what his powers were able to contain. Yet he strongly suspected that drifting outside of these safe corridors would rapidly overwhelm even him, just as Roku was beaten by a volcano. Aang could sense Iioru sending out thin wisps of wind to the edge of the shield, sampling the currents outside and making little corrections to Appa's course as they made progress through. Every time the agent moved, however, Aang was poised to deflect an attack with his feet. He could not risk dying while in the avatar state, and a sudden shot from a toxic dart may kill him before he could break the connection with his past lives.

A dreadful thought occurred to him, and he felt his face flush red from his own stupidity. Iioru was a zealot. He could kill them all by just deliberately steering outside the safe channel, and at this point there would be nothing he could do about it except preserve the spirit for the next Water Tribe avatar. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Iioru turned and grinned that mildly unsettling smile of his, dropping his hands.

They emerged on the other side. Apparently the Great Whorl was not really shaped like a hurricane at all, or if it was, it had an eye over a hundred times larger than any hurricane he'd ever heard of. It was more like a ring of super-strong winds than a spiraling mass. Aang quelled the avatar state and dispersed his air shield.

"That was by far the smoothest ride I've ever had through, Avatar Aang, well done. And Appa, too, I'm certain he could navigate that route on his own now!" Iioru then turned quickly, waving towards the now open vista.

The inside of the Whorl was as clear and calm as the outside. Sunlight beamed through scattered and very normal clouds overhead, although Aang could not fathom how they could manifest inside the storm. There was an inner ring of ocean, choppy near the wind barrier but quite calm any distance away from it. In the center of this oceanic moat was a very large, mountainous island, sheer cliffs all around. Appa raced towards it with obvious eagerness.

As they drew closer, the first thing that caught Aang's eye was the architecture. The buildings covering a large portion of the island's plateaued top were of a broad range of design. Most were simple stone and mortar buildings, little more than irregular blocks with doorways and windows cut out of them, covered in enough ivy to make one wonder which substance was actually holding the structure together. They looked ancient.

Other buildings appeared far newer, and ran the gamut of familiar Air Nomad architecture, with bright pastel colors, to simple mud huts reminiscent of the Foggy Tribe dwellings, to thick columns an earthbender would be proud of.

In the center of this mismatched city stood a tall spire of white stone, a faint light emanating from the highest point, like some kind of lighthouse. At the base of this spire, in stark contrast, was a fortress of charcoal-colored stone, with protrusions of what appeared to be brass sticking out in seemingly random locations. It was from this fortress that Aang saw things he thought he would never see again.

His people. Airbenders, riding the winds on gliders. Other flying bison. This was real, he knew airbending when he saw it. And yet, something was wrong. Something about the style was... heavier.

Iioru had drawn his blade, and Appa's speed made it whistle even when held still. The swordsman appeared to be using the reflective edge to signal whoever was coming up to greet them. Momo cautiously crawled out from his hiding place, and hopped into Aang's arms.

"It's okay buddy, there's probably lots of friendly lemurs here too."

Momo's reaction was to screech and dive into Aang's shirt. Iioru sheathed his blade, and a long shadow cast over the both of them along Appa's back. Aang looked up to see a bison at least twice the size of Appa float down to fly alongside them. There was no saddle on the massive beast, just a simple harness – more like netting – and two tall men, both donned in attire similar to Iioru's. Aang was disappointed, but not surprised, to see that each wielded a gilder-glaive just like Iioru had previously described to him.

"You're early, Iioru, and you brought a guest," said one of the airbenders.

"Yes, may I present Avatar Aang."

The other tall airbender nearly fell overboard.

"Land immediately for debriefing," the first said, then he turned to Aang. "Avatar Aang, I am uncertain as to what decorum is appropriate here, as we've never actually had a visitor before but... welcome to the home of the Air Kith."


	24. Thread Stretched Thin

** A/N: **Yeah, I know, it's been over a year since the last update. I've just had other priorities. But now I have a new job, so that's one priority scratched off the list for the time being. I dedicate this chapter to anyone out there who has saint-like patience and is still reading.

Anyway, minor note regarding Iioru's history lessons... they're imperfect as any story told by a human being is, and so am I. He mentioned his grandparents being survivors, when in reality it'd probably be his great-great-great-grandparents, based on my population estimates over about one-hundred years, semi-frantic reproduction, and an initial shortage of females. So I went back and fixed it (Chapter 17, in case you're curious).

Of course, only the shrewdest of readers would notice this error, and an even smaller subset would find it worthwhile to complain about; even then it'd only become apparent after this chapter, or perhaps later still. Why am I mentioning it then? I dunno. Felt like sharing.

So, sorry for the undeclared hiatus. As per usual, I'd like to pretend that the length and quality of the updates makes up for the wait.

Chapter 24: Thread Stretched Thin

"Take off your shirt."

Mai tilted her head. "Excuse me?"

"Your outer-robe-top-thingy. Give it here."

"Are all tribal women this adventurous, or just you?"

Katara groaned and flushed just a shade towards vermilion, awkwardly waving away the innuendo with one hand, and pointing at the sleeve she had slashed while applying first aid with the other. "I mean, I can sew the sleeve up for you. I have some thread in my traveling kit. It's a bit cold to be walking around with a hole in your clothes, right?"

Mai smirked slightly at her flustering_._ "I can't. This 'thingy' underneath my long vest is all one piece, and with the way Zuko is pushing those animals, we'll be at Gaipan very soon... I hope."

"Right, right. Sorry, I'm just... fidgety in here. I need something to do so I can stop thinking about militias and naval battles and..." she let out a long sigh. "Never mind."

Mai reached with her opposite hand and poked at her left shoulder through the tear in the sleeve. It _was_ a bit breezy, but a little chill was trivial compared to what wreck her arm might have become without Katara's healing. The flesh was still slightly mottled and discolored, but it actually felt better than before the dislocation. Evidently she had not fully healed from the arrow wound she suffered fighting Vachir.

Katara had also healed her head, the little cut on her neck, and patched up the rhinos to boot; though, to be fair, komodo rhinos were extremely resilient creatures, and probably did not need much attention. Mai did not really understand how waterbender healing worked, but since all other bending required some kind of effort, healing too must be taxing in some way. Yet the tribeswoman was practically thrumming with nervous energy.

After both sides licked their wounds, the suddenly apologetic Taku militiamen had offered to personally escort the Fire Lord and his honorable companions to the new town of Gaipan. Zuko agreed, after dictating the terms: 'you better keep up'. He also incinerated their catapult, and not one of the irregular soldiers was of a mind to object to it, probably due to the fact that they had ambushed the leader of a country which had – until recently – dominated the world. Objectively speaking, Zuko _could_ manage to be frightening at times, so that probably had something to do with their obsequiousness as well.

Fortunate then, that the Earth Kingdom seemed unaware that the Fire Nation's military prowess had plummeted like a raven-eagle struck by lightning over the past couple months. The navy took enormous losses at the north pole and from the recent rebellion. The army was as fractious as ever, with several companies just vanishing into Earth Kingdom wilderness to become warlord bands, guerrilla fighters, or to escape punishment. The recently established air force was completely unaccounted for. Zuko now knew where Qin's airbase was located, thanks to his mysterious benefactors who dropped messages from the sky (and she had not forgotten the names, Ran and Shao, that Zuko had let slip), but all he had done to act on it was send Piandao and Jeong Jeong to investigate, believing most of that threat to have been crushed at sea. Hopefully that would not become another mistake.

This left Zuko primarily with the Home Guard, plus officers and their subordinates who held loyalty to their conscience (or at least their country) above their own desire for glory and conquest. Those numbers were disappointing, to say the least. If this 'Taku' split from the Fire Nation, the loss of the colony garrisons would only make it worse.

Mai sighed, and a small part of her longed for the days when she was able to ignore such concerns behind a thick wall of apathy.

After a long silence – if one counts wagon wheels bumping along a road, animals stomping around, and a restless waterbender's idle lap-drumming as silence – Mai decided to actually attempt conversation.

"Thanks, by the way."

As best she could, at any rate. Much to Mai's relief, Katara halted her tapping. "What? Oh, no problem. Certainly couldn't leave you babbling and broken."

Mai's lips turned ever so slightly downwards. "I don't babble."

"Apparently, after smacking your head on the ground, you do," Katara replied, with a smirk.

She shrugged. "Dirt and I never did get along very well."

Katara nodded. "I'm sure there's an inn at Gaipan, and we can get cleaned up and wash our clothes."

Mai looked down at her soiled clothing and grimaced. "This outfit has mud, blood, and ash caked all over it. There is no way I will voluntarily wear it again."

Katara looked at her like she had spontaneously grown scales. "Yeah... that's what doing laundry is meant for... getting out dirt?"

"There are limits to what I trust any kind of cleaning can completely remove."

"So you're just going to throw it away?"

Now it was Mai's turn to be confused. "Why? Do you want it?"

"What? No!" Katara palmed her forehead. "It just seems... wasteful."

"We're a wasteful society."

Katara pressed her lips together a moment. "Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as, um, holier-than-thou."

Mai blinked. "Being the court noblewoman here, I'd appreciate it if you would leave condescension to the professionals."

Katara snorted, like she wanted to laugh but was fighting against it. "I'm not sure whether you're really funny or really offensive."

"Hmm, I've never been called either of those before."

At this, Katara did laugh, which was confusing to Mai, because she was actually serious about that last statement. "You remind me of Toph."

Mai conjured her mental image of the earthbender: loud, obnoxious, dirty, a little smelly, and prone to random acts of destruction. Fond of punches to the arm. A somewhat similar family background and a prickly personality, perhaps?

"It took me awhile to get along with her, I mean," Katara amended, "but I'm glad we did."

_Ah. _Mai was never great at making friends. There was Ty Lee, and Azula too, at least back at the academy, but both of them had approached _her_, not the other way around. Yet, the idea of being on better terms with Zuko's unlikely 'war buddies' was somehow appealing, and in afterthought she realized she had been the one to make the initial effort, both with Katara and with Suki.

"Yeah, you're tolerable too," Mai replied.

The wagon came to a gradual stop. She and Katara had hardly managed to slide out the back of their little mobile shelter before Zuko's frustrated tone carried on the wind.

"But Sir, this is the ruins of Old Gaipan. New Gaipan is upstream-"

"I'm not interested in the new colony!" Zuko snapped, "I want to know what happened here. Bring me someone who was here when... _this_ happened."

Mai walked around the rhino obstructing her view, with Katara almost tip-toeing behind. First she saw Zuko, scowling, his hand outstretched. Then she saw the Taku scout captain, who seemed to be just barely maintaining a sense of diplomacy, as he stomped away to address his squad. Then she saw what Zuko was gesturing at.

It could not even be properly called a ruin, what was left of the first Gaipan. In Mai's mind – admittedly colored by stories written in scrolls – ruins were ancient or crumbling from neglect, but still held hints of the previous structure. There was supposed to be substance under the moss and vines, even for a simple colony village.

Old Gaipan was nothing but a debris pit. There were some slabs of stone, some pieces of tiled roof, a bit of fence here and there. Pieces hinted at a settlement, certainly, but only in the barest sense. Fallen trees propelled by water had rolled buildings down, and then the crushing wave had obliterated the rest. Even with the flood long since receded, water had collected into murky pools and left much of the surrounding area like an eel-hound track: all mud churned into a thick paste, probably from salvage efforts during the summer.

No one short of an avatar would have survived inside the town. She glanced at Zuko, and saw in his face that he was thinking the same thing. He then turned to Katara, who was wringing her hands and staring at her feet.

"You said your brother warned the people. He got everyone out?"

Katara looked up. "Yes."

A young man approached them, along with the scout captain. He looked warily at Zuko, then at herself and Katara, although Mai did not recall seeing him during the fight. She noted his arm was bandaged, so he was likely part of it.

"Fire Lord Zuko, may I present Private Hugao. He says he served in Old Gaipan."

Zuko nodded slightly, and the captain stepped away, leaving the poor private under Zuko's scrutiny. To the eye, they were both the same age, roughly. By how they were carrying themselves, one would swear the private was steeling himself for a paternal, disciplinary beat down.

"There was a garrison here, and a small prison, is that correct?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, Fire Lord."

"Was there time to evacuate the prisoners?"

The soldier gulped. "We followed procedure, Sir. Noble families first, then children and the elderly, then the remaining villagers. Prisoners were last."

"But they _were_ evacuated."

"According to reports. I was merely a garrison clerk at the time, away delivering correspondence."

"Where were the prisoners held afterwards?"

"I'm not sure, Sir. It was a mess. The garrison commander was court-martialed for incompetence, his staff was reassigned, and the actual fighting men were absorbed by the 52nd on their way to Omashu."

"Any records recovered?"

"Again, I do not know, Sir. I returned from delivering messages to a hawk tower to find my town destroyed. I reported in and High Command assigned me to guard duty at the New Gaipan construction site. I've been there ever since, until the Charter of Taku was ratified."

"Charter of... ugh. Is there anything useful you can tell me? Did you actually see any prisoners after the flood, or before it?"

The young soldier looked aside. "No."

Zuko clenched his fists. "Just... go."

The scout bowed slightly and walked off towards one of the ostrich-horse mounts the squad was using. The captain stepped forward.

"May I ask, Lord Zuko, what is so important about the prisoners of Old Gaipan?"

"That would be information sensitive to the Fire Nation, of which you are apparently no longer a part, Captain."

Mai glanced back at Katara. "Please keep him from exploding, if you can. I'm having a little chat with the ex-clerk over there."

Katara nodded. Mai picked her way through the caravan to where Hugao was tending to his steed, trying her best to ignore the conversation she was leaving behind. Normally, she would stay to help Zuko keep his cool, but he was handling this remarkably well so far. That either meant he was actually in control, despite how personal this was, or he was about to start a forest fire, which meant having Katara close to him as both a source of fire control and a source of guilt might keep things from getting out of hand.

She was not sure how she felt about his sense of guilt. Zuko singed her hands a bit, big deal. At least he did not confess his love to her and then break up with a letter and vanish. Or lock her in a prison cell. Or leave her behind and make her worry about him constantly.

_No, stop it. Stop being... emotional and petty. You discussed this with him. He was trying to protect you. He's just an idiot sometimes, but he means well and he loves you. And he's learning, you're with him on this journey now, right?_ Mai shook her head._ This muddy, cold, sleepless journey. Joy._

There were times she could do nothing for him. It was frustrating. Every now and again, though, she was in the right place to do something. Growing up with Azula, her father, and courtly guests had made her fairly adept at spotting liars, and Hugao was lit up like a beacon. He looked up at her as she approached him.

"Miss? I apologize, I did not catch your name, and I don't know how to address you..."

"Mai. We're still working on the title. I'm thinking... Assassin-Consort."

The boy paled. "You're an assassin? Are you going to stab me again?"

Mai looked at his bandaged arm. _Oh, heh._ "Well, I'm not an assassin _yet_, but I bet I'd be pretty good at it."

"Of that I have no doubt, Lady – er, that is... Assassin-Consort Mai." She hoped that title would not actually stick. Too many syllables.

She adopted a casual tone, something she knew from personal experience could be far creepier than any overtly threatening voice. "It's just that sometimes people really make me angry. And I don't like being angry, so it would be so much easier to just... get rid of them."

"Uh..."

"And you know what type of person really makes me mad?"

"Um..."

"Liars. Stinking, filthy liars. Do you know what I mean, Hugao? Just makes me want to skewer someone."

A bead of sweat raced from his hairline, down his cheek, and hung pregnant from his chin.

"I've been sworn to silence on pain of death!" He croaked out. "The garrison commander said if I ever told anyone, he'd send the Third Eye after me!"

Mai flicked a knife into her hand and spun it around idly. "Well, that's quite a predicament, because I'm here right now, demanding the opposite. I might stress the 'I'm here right now_'_ part though."

"Okay, okay!" he hissed. "Look, all I know is we had this really high-profile prisoner, some noblewoman, except no one was supposed to know we had her. She used to live in the town, then about three years ago she was arrested for sedition and some spooky guys from the mainland had me remove all traces of her from the records. All her neighbors disappeared, as did the handful of merchants she purchased groceries and supplies from. She was tossed in a special cell, and only the garrison officers knew about her, but she was treated well enough."

"And when the flood came?" Mai pressed.

"We got her out just as the dam blew. The commander and I just ran for the high ground, but when we caught up with the rest of the townsfolk, she was gone. That's all I know, I swear! She must have ran off into the woods!"

"I... see." Mai's head whirled. It had to have been Ursa. She had escaped and fled east, into the forest, about nine months ago. She could be anywhere now, but the trail was slightly warmer. The question was, would Zuko try to scour the woods for her next, go to Ba Sing Se for Iroh, or address this Taku problem directly?

"You're going to 'disappear' me now, aren't you?" Hugao slouched.

Mai simply patted his head and walked away.

* * *

_My brain hurts._ _I'm hungry and Long Feng is a good friend of mine and I hate lights that go in __circles so very much. I'd give my life for Ba Sing Se, I miss Suki, and the Cultural Authority has my best interests in mind, even though they're the ones giving me this awful headache right now._

_ I wish I spent more time in their library, learning about this trickety-trick of theirs._

_ I hope my sister is okay. And Toph. And Aang. And Zuko. Still weird thinking about Zuko's good health sometimes, but hey..._

_ I'm happy in Ba Sing Se, working for... with... under the yoke of the Dai Li. Like a farm animal._

_ Meat, meat, meat... meat, meat. Boomerang! Meat-a-rang?_

_ I'm safe here in the city, safe like I'm sure my Water Tribe club would be in Long Feng's rectum._

_ Ew, that didn't come out right._

_ Heheh, that's what she said._

_ Dude, laugh at that, it's funny. Stop talking about how great your dumb city is for a second and laugh. Hee hee hee hee, har har har, haw._

_ I said laugh, damn you!_

_ Dullard. All of you goons... just so... boring._

_ I... I serve the Dai Li... except on bank holidays. I serve the Dai Li, Long Feng is a good friend of mine, and the Cultural Authority has my best interests in mind... um, insert sarcastic comment here._

_ I don't think this is working._

_ For the last time, I've been to Lake Laogai and it's really a pretty crappy vacation spot. Crawling with Dai Li, who are the utmost authority of Ba Sing Se, unquestionably, except for when they defected to the Fire Nation like a bunch of sea sponges._

_ My head feels like badger-moles are tunneling in it... someone get me out of here... Suki... it's your turn to rescue me from prison, m'kay?_

_ Long Feng is a good friend of mine, I serve him and the Dai Li, who have my best interests in mind._

_ I hope they don't make me hurt anyone I care about._

* * *

_ I've suffered far worse than this. I've seen things, heard things, and felt things that would make lesser men lose their minds. Yet, I'm old, and tired..._ and _I could really enjoy some tea right now. Perhaps jasmine with my good friend Long Feng... wait, that's not right. I'd sooner share rice wine with my brother. Although Ozai always was a bit more amiable when tipsy, rare as that was._

_ This modern sorcery... how long can I resist it? Should I take the chance and pitch old magic against the new? Cast my mind and soul into the spirit world, to wait for an unlikely rescue? Would I be able to return this time? Would I even want to? Perhaps, then, I should simply will myself to death. Burn my own tether. It would be better than what these fiends intend for me._

_ No, I couldn't do that to Zuko, he still needs me, and I have a few good years left. Ba Sing Se needs me as well... needs me to... listen. Embrace her safety, the circle of light and those lovely curves. That 'Joo Dee', though I know that's not her name... the first one... oh what hells shall be waiting for me for the fantasies she evoked? Certainly no more torturous than this accursed drone and his drawling voice!_

_ I already gave my son's life for Ba Sing Se. Sacrificed many of my own years. The city wants more of me? Am I actually an Earth Kingdomer, borne to Fire Nation nobility as some sort of cosmic joke? Well, Long Feng had turned me so long ago... we do go way back, after all. Did we meet during the siege then? No... no I had not known the man before this year. Any man of the earth I had met back then was swiftly destroyed, green to black._

_ Red to green._

_ We all depend on the balance. On order. Order that the Dai Li represent... in the city._

_ Elsewhere, there are other orders._

_ Surely the Order... no, no I mustn't think of that. Anything but that. I am an old general to them, and nothing more._

_ An old general. An old general. I'm nothing but an old general. Dragon of the West. Dragon of the East, perhaps. Dragons... no I mustn't think of that either._

_ Bah! Too many secrets. Too dangerous to let them fall into the wrong hands._

_ Forgive me, dear nephew and all my friends... it is better they supplant my mind and control my body, than to grant them the trove of my memories._

_ It would seem I must break one promise to keep several others. Lu Ten... I caress the bale-fire for the right reasons, this time... I hope._

* * *

Aang tried to appear casual and patient as he leaned lazily against Appa's broad flank, but after at least twenty minutes of waiting on the circular platform which his escorts had politely asked him and Iioru to land upon, he was about ready to explode. Out of respect for his hosts, he agreed to waiting until he was 'cleared', whatever that meant, but every time he looked up and saw someone flying above him, he yearned to borrow someone's glider (even if it had a stupid, pointy blade on it) and race around.

It was obvious that Iioru had displeased someone, almost to the point where he may as well have been put in shackles. The swordsman had been taken away to the large, slate gray, brass-horned structure situated at the base of the spire, almost immediately, by two men in brown and black tunics (Kith guards? warriors? Aang was not sure what to call them). Unlike the pair who had intercepted them in the air, these men were older, carried no weapons, and were heavily built, making even Iioru look like a diminutive misfit as one took the lead and the other followed behind. Was coming home early really such a big deal?

The two lanky airbenders stayed behind to 'accompany' Aang, with their massive bison floating around in lazy circles, mostly keeping a curious eye on Appa. They were not the most talkative fellows; it had taken the Avatar ten minutes just to get them to divulge their names, although for different reasons. Digo, the polite and collected one, stalwartly dismissed his queries with variants on 'sorry, I'm not allowed to tell you that'. Wen, the somewhat jumpy one, either stuttered or shook his head most of the time. Aang guessed they were likely brothers, as their builds, angular faces, and airbender-gray eyes were incredibly similar, a likeness further highlighted by their matching set of gray and white robes, and shaved scalps. They did not have any arrow tattoos, but Aang supposed that did not tell him much. It was likely another tradition cast aside by desperate survivors.

He had to keep reminding himself that his people had evolved in apparent isolation for nearly one-hundred years. Of course they would change in such circumstances; how could they not? Airbending children – and the few children of those Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom people who had tried to protect them – lived on their own, on a storm-swaddled island. Their descendants continued that existence, and most of them never saw the world outside the Great Whorl.

The choices seemed obvious, when he thought about them. Crafting dye in the exact saffron shade for traditional robes was a waste of time and resources. Tattoos without proper supplies and means of sterilization just begged an infection. A strictly vegetarian diet may as well have been suicidal. Thus, robes spun from (hopefully sheared) bison fur and left in their natural colors, no tattoos, and fish become a staple food, if the smell emanating from a nearby smokehouse was any indication. They were clearly doing well enough now to re-adopt the old ways, but that was unlikely to happen without some kind of prompting.

Aang was about to ruminate on the fact that Iioru seemed to maintain a vegetarian diet during their travels, when a flash of orange caught his attention. His first reaction – after so many months spent hounded by various firebenders – was to snap into a defensive stance, ready to ward a fireball away from himself and Appa. When none came, he focused his gaze directly where he caught the color in his periphery, and found nothing there but a stack of barrels and boxes, leaning against what appeared to be a warehouse or barn.

Then he noticed Digo and Wen had both dropped into a stance themselves, and had the business-end of their glaives pointed in his direction. Like Iioru's sword, the blades were dotted with small holes. Digo was still; Wen shook slightly.

"Uh, sorry, I thought I saw a fire over there," Aang said, staring intently at the brothers. "Appa hates fire." That seemed to relax the pair enough for them to return to their previous postures: Wen with a slight slouch and nervous fingers tapping silently on his staff, and Digo standing like a stiff corpse, with a white-knuckled grip on his weapon.

It was then that Aang realized something that truly disturbed him.

He expected the people here – based on what Iioru told him – to treat him with sympathy as Aang the last Air Nomad, or contempt as Aang the Avatar, who failed to save their ancestors. He could even accept the kind of frothing reverence he sometimes encountered in the Earth Kingdom. His initial impression of Digo was that of politely restrained contempt, and that Wen was bordering on the frothy fan variety.

But none of his assumptions were correct. They were both _afraid_ of him.

Why? The only people who ever had reason to fear him was the Fire Nation, and it's not like he came over in a glowing ball of death and wiped out their continent. There was no reason to be considered a threat to the remnants of his own people, besides the poisoning and abduction thing, and Aang had already forgiven Iioru for that little grievance.

There was no denying the fear in the eyes of these two young men, though. It was the same expression that Ozai wore when Aang was about to obliterate him with a quadruple-element cyclone, and all Aang did here was put his guard up.

He realized, and almost flinched from the memories, that it was also the look that the Si Wongi people gave him when we wrecked their sand-sailers, General Fong when he tore up that Earth Army base, his vague recollection of Fire Nation soldiers at the North Pole when he merged with La, or that of the Mechanist and his refugees when he tossed a demolition machine off the temple parapet.

The final memory seemed the most appropriate. Another scout, like Iioru, may have visited the Northern Air Temple, where someone undoubtedly recounted the story of how violently upset he had been with all the 'improvements' that had been made. But it could have been any one of his less proud moments that preceded him here. What if the Air Kith thought he was going to see what became of his people, flip out, and destroy the island in a fit of rage? That his own kin, distanced by time though they were, would consider that of him...

"You guys know I'm not going to hurt anyone or destroy anything here, right?" Aang asked. When all he received as a response was an exchange of glances between the the two guards, he pressed a little desperately, "I know you're just doing your jobs, but will you please talk to me?"

After what seemed a full minute of silence, Digo finally said, "Headmistress Daiyeng believes you are a dangerous, unknown entity."

"Daiyeng... is she your leader?"

"N-no, that w-would be Prioress Ygaia," Wen added, finally putting more than two syllables together. Digo shot the slightly smaller man a glare.

"What does _she_ think of me?" Aang asked, turning to the suddenly un-muted airbender.

"We've already said too much," Digo cut in. "Please, Avatar Aang, it is not our place to speak of such things."

"Are you not allowed to talk about her?" Aang wondered aloud. What kind of government had evolved from the Lama Council of his day?

"Don't be ridiculous, we are not led by some petty tyrant!" Digo said, bristling for a moment before quieting himself down. "My apologies, Avatar Aang. There are no rules for how to handle your presence here. It's safer for all of us to just wait until you are cleared."

Aang decided to switch tack. "Alright, I understand. Could we at least get Appa somewhere he can eat and rest? He's been flying long trips for days, and then he pushed through _that_." Aang gestured to the dark wall of air that encircled the island out at sea. "Trust me, the only reason he isn't flying around the island and saying hello to all your bison is because he's too exhausted, and your cow is keeping him company."

"Her name is Yuni," Digo stated, "and we were given strict instructions."

Appa chose that particular moment to groan in a decidedly mournful and pathetic manner. Momo, who had been hiding on Appa's saddle ever since they breached the Whorl, tentatively peeked over the wooden rim.

"Come on, b-brother, t-t-the stable is right over there."

"Out of the question."

"We do have r-rules for how we treat our f-f-flying bison."

Digo frowned. "That is true."

Aang resisted the urge to press any more; Wen seemed to be doing that for him.

"And that s-saddle s-sure looks heavy."

"It does appear to be a rather cumbersome accessory."

Aang decided not to be offended by the insinuation that Appa's saddle was somehow a form of mistreatment. "Great! Hear that buddy? Let's get you some dinner!"

"Wait, I did not agree-" Digo started, but Appa was already rising to his six feet and lumbering to the relatively narrow bridge that would take him away from the platform. Aang gave the flustered airbender a helpless shrug, as if he had no influence over Appa's actions, which was probably true at the moment.

"C-come on, Yuni, you too," Wen called to the large female.

"Oh, very well, if I must choose between two conflicting protocols, I suppose I should choose in favor of the bison," Digo said, as he turned to walk in parallel with Wen and Aang as they followed Appa across the bridge.

"That's the spirit... I think," Aang said.

Once off the bridge, Aang found himself on some kind of broad causeway, perhaps fifteen feet up from sea level, which spanned in an arc around the west side of the island, if not around the entire perimeter of it. Looking back at the landing platform, he noticed a thick, solitary pillar supported it underneath, dipping directly into the shallow water just off the beach. Now aware of what the platforms looked like from profile, he noticed several identical structures along the causeway, and similar constructions jutting out from various points along the alabaster tower and the dark fortress at its base.

When his eyes reached the top of the tower, he again noticed the light shining from its peak. It was not the bright radiance of a brazier reflecting off an array of mirrors; it was softer and seemed to change color, like light being passed through a prism. Perhaps that was exactly what it was: a giant prism to make pretty colors in the sunlight. His curiosity asked for a closer look, but something made him hesitate.

He shook his head. He wanted to make sure Appa and Momo were cared for, and he did not want to get Digo and Wen in trouble just so he could take off and see some glittery crystal. Once he was 'cleared', he could go explore all he wanted.

Yuni landed, a bit heavily, in front of Appa and led the way to the large stables. Momo, seemingly displeased with being anywhere near the larger bison, flew off Appa's back and landed on Aang's shoulder. After Aang calmed him with a few scratches between his long ears, the lemur flew off again, as easily put at ease as he was disturbed.

"So, how long have you had Yuni?" Aang asked Digo, assuming the elder brother to be her bonded airbender.

"You speak as if I own her. She chose Wen and I, and remains with us only as long as we continue to respect her needs and wants."

"Oh... okay. Well, I don't think you have to worry about Yuni trading you guys for someone else, sky bison are loyal for life."

"Even so, we do not presume to test that loyalty."

Aang carried on. "Appa and I have been together since he was a calf. Back then, monks and nuns chose their bison, and not the other way around... but I prefer to think we chose each other."

Yuni reached a broad set of doors and nudged them open with her head, presumably entering the aforementioned bison stables. Appa seemed hesitant to enter at first, as he always was of enclosed spaces, but trundled in a moment later. As the airbenders followed behind, Aang heard Momo's curious chirping from around the building's corner outside. Though he had not seen any yet, he knew there were flying lemurs on this island as well, if Iioru could be trusted on that detail. Aang figured if the man would lie about something, he'd probably have more important subjects to cover.

Inside the large building, there were several alcoves not unlike where the bison rested at the Southern Air Temple, except these were made of wood and square instead of hollows carved by wind into the stone. The largest such alcove in the back was clearly sized for a cow of Yuni's mass, and she made straight for it. Appa looked around for a moment and went for some hay in the alcove closest to the door.

"Where are the rest of the bison?" Aang asked.

"Not here," Digo replied.

Aang found his patience wearing thin with Digo's vice-grip on even trivial information. He was about to tell him as much when Momo's barely audible chirping outside suddenly became a distressed screech. Then silence. Then... a giggle?

"W-what was th-that?" Wen asked aloud.

Digo frowned. "I think I know."

Aang hustled outside and around the corner, and found himself looking at the same pile of boxes he had spotted from afar a few minutes ago.

"Momo?" He asked, tentatively.

A chirp in response. Followed by a shushing noise. And in the few moments it took for the brothers to join him, another giggle.

Digo crossed his arms, staff held in the crook of his elbow. "We know you're there, you may as well come out."

For the briefest moment, Aang almost reacted to the orange again, but he quickly realized that what he thought before was fire, was actually bright saffron robes draped over a little girl. The colors he had seen on the island thus far were so drab that she practically seemed to be radiating light by comparison. He wondered if his own attire seemed that way to others here.

She was a tiny thing, even smaller and thinner than Toph, with a toothy smile and pale blue eyes. Her darker skin and somewhat pudgy nose suggested Water Tribe blood, but her shoulder-length hair – which could only be described as an inky, wind-blown mess – indicated the more likely Air Nomad parentage. She could not have been older than eight.

Momo was cradled in her arms, purring as she gently pet him. She shuffled forward, clearly anticipating a scolding, but the laughter in her eyes suggested she could not care less.

"You should be in class," Digo said.

The girl stuck out her tongue. "It's boring." Her eyes locked onto Aang. "I like your robes."

Aang smiled. "I like yours too."

"And your arrows!"

"Thanks!"

"Ahem!" Digo grunted. "The outer loop is not a playground. How many times must I tell you this?"

"Fifty-bajillion times?" the girl guessed, clearly delighting in annoying the severe airbender. Wen stifled a laugh.

"That's not a real number! Which you would know if you attended your classes!"

"Boooorrrring."

"Release the Avatar's lemur immediately and get back to school!"

The girl did not 'release' so much as drop Momo on his haunches, much to the lemur's annoyance. Her gaze snapped right back on Aang. "You're the Avatar?"

"No!" Digo tried, lamely.

"Yep! I'm Aang."

The girl spiraled into the air with a gentle current, lifting her a good five feet before she floated back down. "Whirlin'! My name is Ti! I can't wait to tell everyone at school I met the Avatar!"

"You'll do nothing of the sort!" Digo shouted.

"Can't make me!"

Digo paled. "Ti, if you keep this a secret, I won't inform your headmistress of your truancy."

Ti tilted her head. "I'm always truth-antsy. That's why I'm telling everyone about the Avatar."

Wen chuckled. "S-she's g-got you there, b-brother."

Digo whirled on his sibling. "You're not helping. Need I remind you that if it is discovered we failed in such a simple task as keeping someone on a landing platform, we'll both be sweeping stables for a year, if not discharged from the sky-riders?"

"Oh. R-right."

"In fairness," Aang cut in, "confining an avatar with just two guys is pretty ridiculous."

"We were prepared," Digo said, a little coldly.

"Look, I'm supposed to be the Great Mediator and all. I have a solution that will satisfy everyone."

"Do tell."

"Exactly! Now you're getting it!" Aang flipped backwards and curled the air under him into a scooter. The moment he felt his foot nestle into the precarious balancing point of the sphere, he tore off towards the landing platform, airbending behind him for thrust, and in front of him to all but eliminate wind-resistance. The result was incredible speed and acceleration, like any airbender, but with the added benefit of his scooter removing the need for footfalls.

Behind him, Ti squealed with glee, and a pair of gliders snapped open. Aang was already rounding onto the bridge to the platform. Glancing to his right, he noted the brothers flying to intercept him, but even by cutting the corner, they'd be too late.

He skidded to a halt in the center of the circle, spun to face the spire, and sucked in a deep breath.

"Hello everybody!" he shouted to the island, his airbending-amplified voice causing birds and lemurs to take to the air. "I'm Avatar Aang, and I'm paying a friendly visit to your home! Pleased to meet you!"

Digo and Wen landed as the word 'you' echoed between the myriad buildings dotting the island and the fortress composing its center. Wen slumped and nearly dropped his now folded glaive. Digo rapped himself on the forehead with the haft of his own, while returning a blowgun to his tunic with the other hand.

Aang twitched at the sight of the blowgun. No doubt it had more of the itchy poison Iioru used on him, or worse. He made it a point to keep an ear open for the spitting noise they made.

Ti caught up a few seconds later, clearly attempting to replicate Aang's air scooter and coming up with a barely controlled facsimile, which ended in her pitching forward and rolling the last few yards with her body instead of a sphere of air. Before she even stopped sliding, she was back on her feet and grinning madly, despite the bruises and abrasions now covering her forearms.

"That was so neat! You have to teach me!"

"I'd love to," Aang replied with an easy smile.

"We're d-doomed," Wen lamented, looking out at the figures now peering at them from various windows and doors. Aang noted, while most were garbed in shades of brown or gray, a few sported the same vibrant orange as Ti.

Aang turned to him. "No you're not, you kept me here on the platform this whole time, just like you were ordered, and had Yuni guide Appa to the stables. I just yelled suddenly. Nothing you could have done about it."

"I d-don't think..." Wen trailed off.

Ti tugged on the brothers' tunics. "Don't worry guys, I won't be truth-antsy about this, I promise."

Digo palmed his forehead and sighed. "Whirlin'."

* * *

By the morning of the third day, Toph was convinced she would lose her mind well before her body recovered. If being confined to her parents' property as a child drove her bonkers... restriction to a thin cot, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but her own thoughts to entertain her for most of the day, was certain to make her Bumi-crazy.

Sure, at first it had been tolerable. She had slept a lot. Initially, the few hours she had been awake were spent either eating or contemplating her mortality. She had never been much for deep thoughts, but flirting with death had a way of changing a person. Odd dreams, simple stew, and introspection may not be her favorite things, but it beat being bored.

On the first day's afternoon, she had found some solace in placing her hand on the earthen wall of her little medical bay to watch the goings-on outside. Unfortunately, since she was in the camp, and the work-site was getting progressively farther away as the earthbenders constructed the bridge, outside activity was both infrequent and mostly dull chores.

It had occurred to her that Tyro and his crew would probably move the camp closer to the work site at some point, and wondered if her presence was delaying that. The thought that her mistakes were impacting more and more people did not sit well.

When day two came around, she got creative. Her favorite pastime became etching bizarre or profane images into the wall, then reading Haru's reaction when he inevitably came in to bring her food. He would always hastily erase it with his own bending, then grumble something about emotionally scarring his poor mother, much to Toph's amusement.

Not that she would do anything to upset his mom. Qimu was... well... she was too nice (and not in that preachy Katara way) to mess around with. Plus, the woman was also her nurse at the moment... she really did not want anyone else responsible for changing the bandages around her chest and shoulder. She might have been dubbed a 'wild child', but she still had a little sense of modesty, and the thin cotton shift she was wearing was barely preserving that.

Not too much modesty, though. She had just finished the last lines of a hog-monkey humping a coco-melon when Haru walked in with breakfast. Instead of his previous sputtering reactions, however, he just laughed a bit, set a tray down, and bent himself a seat from the ground.

_It's not any fun if he doesn't freak out about it. _Now she was bored again, but at least there was food. The aroma hinted at something sweet in the congee this time. Pearples and cinnamon, maybe.

"You know, Toph, you're actually quite the artist," Haru said, as he handed her a warm bowl. He bent another small shelf from the ground and set down what sounded like a pair of empty tin cups and a sloshing, full pot of tea.

Toph blew at her bangs. "Not like I would know what good art looks like."

"Hey, I'm serious. Obviously things like shadow and color mean nothing to you, but the lines and shapes... very impressive."

She slapped a hand on the wall. "You don't _seem_ to be lying."

"Why would I lie about that?"

"Because it's absurd?"

"Well, I'm talking about the style, not the... ah... choice of subject matter. Although I guess certain establishments might take an interest..."

"'Certain establishments'?"

_Now_ she could feel a reaction.

"Never mind," he said, quickly.

"No, I'm curious... what kinds of places?"

"Places inappropriate to discuss with a twelve year-old girl."

"Wait wait wait," she said, barely containing her smirk. "You're suggesting I accept commissions to create artwork... for _brothels_?"

"No! That's not what I'm suggesting at all!"

"I think you've been hanging around weird old soldiers too much lately."

Haru snorted. "Funny, I was about to say the same about you."

"Please," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "I hung out with Earth Rumblers when I was ten."

"That explains a lot," Haru mumbled.

"And since when are you an art critic?"

"Well, one of the volunteers is a sculptor. A chatty one."

"Ah."

Toph, satisfied with another successful game of 'riling up Haru', dug into her breakfast and helped herself to the tea (which was lackluster, but at least quenching). As she ate, she considered the sincerity of his compliment, but if she were honest, forms and lines were easy for her. She folded earth into all sorts of specific shapes on a daily basis. Her entire concept of vision was based around how the weight of something slightly deformed the ground it was resting upon, how the density of something changed the manner in which vibrations through the earth hummed along with it, how dirt and dust settled in between the cracks and details. In some more intimate cases, her vision was based on direct touch; she knew best whatever she could trace with her fingertips. In her mind, all she was doing was remembering what she 'saw' and duplicating it in different combinations. Not that impressive at all, really.

_Well, okay, making a tiny Ba Sing Se out of sand was pretty hard_. Most people probably did not have the ability to remember tiny details like that, let alone have the fine bending control that she possessed. Maybe she inherited that from her mother, in some way. She recalled the uncanny likeness of the statue of herself her mother had created, and from what only could have been memory and a few descriptions from her father regarding her earthbending in Xin Fu's arena. Not to mention she did it with mundane tools. That was _real_ artistry.

Her thoughts hopped to the realization that she had not kept her promise to keep in touch with her parents. They probably were worried sick, and disappointed, but not surprised. Not after what she's done to them over the past few months. A wave of guilt washed over her, and her appetite fell by the wayside, though she had mostly eaten her fill anyway. Haru must have noticed the change in her demeanor, because the rhythmic scraping of chop sticks against his own clay bowl ceased as well.

"Something the matter with the food?" he asked.

Toph shook her head. "No, just... thought of something." Toph idly tapped her fingers on the wall, picking up traces of activity outside. Most of it pulsed distantly from the south and east, which she recognized as the throbbing of heavy earthbending, but no more detail than that. Within the camp itself, wives and children of the workmen attended to chores, creating a muted symphony of clattering noise. From somewhere, a faint buzzing sound rang in her ears, though the canyons made it difficult to pinpoint the direction. Did canyon crawlers make that noise?

From the outskirts of camp, a group of three was being escorted by a muscled mass who could only be Tyro.

"Seems your dad is bringing some friends over," Toph said.

"What? Oh, right. Just some travelers. We sometimes attract the attention of people in the area with all the work we've been doing, and they trade with us, or offer to help in exchange for supplies or a safe place to rest. Dad and I spotted them just before I left the work area to check on you."

Toph tensed. "You know, they could be-"

"Dai Li," Haru finished for her. "I don't think so. They're all teenagers, two are girls, and none of them have an earthbender's build."

"_I_ don't have an earthbender's build either."

"Good point, but..."

"Even if they aren't Dai Li, they could be spies for the Dai Li!"

Haru started. "Toph... are you okay? You look... terrified."

"Are you calling me picken? I'll throw down right now, mustache boy!"

"Toph, I didn't mean..."

She slammed her fist into the wall, ignoring the jolt of pain that rippled through her recovering body, and sent a wave through the ground to get a better look at the guests. By now, Tyro had greeted Qimu, and together with the three strangers, they appeared to be having some conversation. One of them was a tall girl, a young woman really. The boy was nearly as tall, but much thinner, and casually held something metal over his shoulders like a yoke. The third was the smallest of the bunch, was either wearing light armor or clothes inlaid with metals, and was practically shaking with irritation. At this distance, she'd have to settle for that much information.

Haru must have mistook her punch to the wall as anger, as he was still uttering apologies.

"No, it's fine," she said to interrupt him. "I was just getting a better look at our visitors."

"I really should ask you to teach me that some time."

"Yeah, you really should," Toph answered distractedly. The tall girl and Qimu were headed in the direction of her temporary dwelling. Toph grasped the space-metal ring on her finger.

"Toph, dear," Qimu's voice came from the crude arch of her earthen hut, "I have someone here who may be able to help you... oh hello, Haru. I didn't realize you were having breakfast here too."

"Mom, I've brought breakfast to Toph every day," Haru answered.

"So I've noticed." Qimu gestured behind her. "This is Mimiluu Jo. She's a waterbending healer from the... Foggy Swamp was it?"

_Waterbending healer? I'll believe it when I feel it._

"Yes ma'am," the girl answered. "Y'all can call me Mijo, though."

Haru set his bowl down and stood. "Nice to meet you, Mijo."

"Aw, handsome and a gentlefella. Reckon I ought've come northwards sooner," Mijo said. Toph felt Haru's heart-rate spike like kuaiball player.

"Uh..." was his articulate response.

"'Fraid I ought ask ya to leave though, hun. I gotta fix up yer friend."

"Um..."

"Comeon now, yer cute 'n all, but Ilah'll be in a tizzy all darn day if I dawdle."

"Mm..."

Qimu moved to collect the dishes and set them back on a tray. "Come now, son, allow the girls some privacy."

"Hmm? Oh! Of course. I better get back to work with Dad. See you later, Toph."

"Later, Fur-face."

A few footfalls later, and it was just a wounded girl and a mysterious young woman. Toph could get a much better 'look' at her, now that she was so close. The woman managed to be curvy and gangly at the same time. She was barefoot, and smelled a bit like the silty mud one might find on the bank of a river... natural and earthy, but not unpleasant. Her skirt rustled as she walked, as did the beads in her hair gently click together. Toph had only before met the swampbenders who were in the Fire Nation for the Day of Black Sun, but this lady seemed to fit the bill, right down to that goofy accent.

"Why are you helping me?" Toph blurted out. Just because Mijo was probably telling the truth about being from the Foggy Swamp, did not mean the girl was not suspicious.

"What? I'm a healer, hun. It's what I do."

"Few healers work for free."

"Well, I ain't. We need food and such. Now quit bein' fussy and let's have a look at ya."

Toph raised her face to Mijo so she could scowl at her. "I'm not _fussy_."

Mijo recoiled a bit. "Oh, my... the lady said it was all meat and bone what needed mendin', what happened to yer eyes?"

Toph groaned. "I was born that way."

"Oh. Well, reckon I can fix that too."

"There's nothing to heal."

"Gave it a go before, did ya?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Then no harm tryin', hun. Now, can ya sit up?"

With some discomfort, Toph rose from her pallet into a sitting position. Mijo grabbed the hem of her shift and and began shimmying it up her body, being particularly careful of her shoulder injury when getting her arms out of the sleeves. It was a bit of a shock to have most of her skin suddenly exposed to the cool air, but that was quickly forgotten when the healer began unwrapping the bandages around her torso.

"Is that... really necessary?" Toph asked.

"Sorry hun, but I'll be needin' to see the damage fer m'self. Now don't y'all be shy, ain't nothin I ain't seen before."

"I'm not _shy_. It's just... cold."

"Sorry girlie, ain't much I can do 'bout that." The last of her bandages came loose. "My! Reckon the missus did a pretty good job patchin' ya up. That's quite the bit yer missin'. What did that?"

"A giant bug," Toph said.

"Back where I'm from, we eat the bugs, not the other way 'round."

"Yeah, well, there were a lot of them, and I'd been running... look can you fix it or not?"

"Shh, hold still, hun." Toph heard water slosh through the air, followed by the familiar high-pitched tone that heal-y water apparently made. Katara had once told her that it gave off a faint light too; it was some kind of reaction to chi being channeled through it.

When Toph expected the cool-yet-warm liquid to be pressed into the wound, she instead heard Mijo take a deep breath. Before she could ask, the older girl was gently blowing vapor over her shoulder, and then she pressed her hands to the wound.

This was vastly different from Katara's technique. From previous experiences, healing felt soothing and tingly. Sokka had described the benefit being roughly equivalent to a full day's worth of recovery in a few minutes, and Katara had explained that once the area became chi-saturated, one had to wait until later for another session. It beat any medicine, poultice, or remedy known to man, but it had limits.

Instead of tingly, this felt more like a vigorous massage, bordering on painful. She could feel sinews in her shoulder as if they were being repaired and reattached as individual threads, but all of them nearly simultaneously. It was invigorating and exhausting at the same time.

Mijo moved on to her ribs, her arms, anywhere she was hurt, and repeated the technique. The high-pitched whine sounded more like a whistle now, mixing with the buzz outside, and Toph lost track of time. Perhaps she fell asleep sitting up. It was hard to say.

When the process came to her eyes, though, Toph snapped back to the present. There was something about having somebody blow air, no matter how soothingly moist, into your eyes that had a way of kicking you out of a trance.

"Hmm, ain't ever come 'cross somethin' like this."

Toph remained silent.

"Ain't broken... more like... missin' parts."

"I told you; nothing to fix."

"Well hold on, lemme try..."

Having the sensation of a rough massage was okay, until that sensation was applied to your eyeballs. Then it just felt like someone was rapidly punching your pupils. Toph recoiled almost immediately. "Ow!"

"Sorry hun!"

"Sorry nothing! I told you to lay off my eyes!"

"Was just tryin'-"

Toph thrust her arm out. "Try experimenting on someone else!"

She realized it was her bad arm and shoulder that she was gesturing with – her _previously_ _mangled_ arm and shoulder. Now it just felt... sore, like a plain old bruise. She poked at it with the opposite hand in curiosity. Tender, but otherwise good as new. Even the stitches that Qimu had threaded through her skin were removed.

"Better?" Mijo asked.

"Yeah... yes. Thank you."

"My pleasure. Though, reckon I can't fix yer eyes, hun."

"That's okay... I have ways around that problem."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, for instance, I know one of your pals is just about-"

"Mijo," a familiar, raspy voice came through the doorway, "Ilah want's to know how much longer this is going to..."

"Altar Boy?" Toph asked as he trailed off.

"Um, hun-" Mijo said.

"Huh, small world," Toph said, mostly to herself.

The lanky boy bolted around out the door. "A thousand apologies!"

"What's his problem?" Toph wondered.

"Ya ain't decent, be my guess."

She did not feel cold any more, that was for sure. Slowly, though obviously to little purpose now, she lifted her arms to cover her chest. "Oh. I... better get dressed then."

"Aw, hun, I'm sure he didn't mean it, the dolt. I'll ask Missus Qimu fer some clothes."

"Yeah, you do that."

A few minutes later, after she dressed and gathered her wits out of the pit of embarrassment, Toph stepped outside for the first time in days, dressed in a simple set of trousers, shirt, and traveling cloak. All boys clothes, since there were no girls with her size in the camp, but that suited her just fine. Her hair was tied back and fastened with stone barrettes, which she quickly fashioned herself.

She stretched a bit, feeling out the tenderness in her joints, and yawned. She felt tired and yet wide awake. It was much like that over-tired feeling that one gets when running on barely any sleep: a burst of energy with the inevitability of crashing hard later. She'd sleep like the dead tonight. _Better to be _like_ the dead than actually dead._

It was nearing midday, as Toph could smell lunch being prepared. If the lack of warmth on her neck was any indication, though, the sky was thick with clouds. She could sense the crew of workers marching up from the south, no doubt hungry after earth-bending since sunrise. A pair of ostrich horses, heavy with riders, trotted along with them, though she did not recall them having any before.

The buzzing sound was louder, too, though still so faint that she doubted anyone else heard it. She still could not tell easily where it was coming from, as it seemed to be echoing around from everywhere. Was it a bug song, or some kind of machine the workers were using? She was about to stomp around and try to pinpoint it, when she caught Mijo's voice.

"...calm yerself, Ilah. We'll be hittin' the ol' dusty trail soon," Toph heard her say, distant but within her earshot.

An aggravated huff was all Mijo got as a response. She, the sandbender, and the perpetually irritated one stood close together, arguing about something. Toph casually strode over, ostensibly to thank Mijo again, but mainly to pummel the skinny boy-priest all around the camp, just on principle. She was overdue for a good workout anyway. _Not that he'd be much of a challenge_.

"I still do not understand why we cannot just stay here for now," he said. "Surely we would be safer surrounded by friendly earthbenders if the Fire Lord's Kyoshi attack us again."

_The _Fire Lord's_ Kyoshi? Since when did Suki's gang officially throw in with Zuko?_

"Mebbe she don't want these people involved, hun."

"I am merely suggesting we not beg fate for another horribly lopsided ambush. Why not challenge them when we have the advantage?"

"Shush hun, that li'l' blind girlie's walkin' straight to us... somehow."

"Oh... Fei Hyo have mercy on me."

Mijo and Altar Boy turned as she approached, and Toph idly waved a hand by way of greeting. The other girl hardly moved a muscle underneath what Toph could now confirm was light armor reinforced with metal in a few spots.

"Bet yer glad to be on yer feet, right hun?" Mijo asked.

"More than you know; thanks again."

"Ya see, Ilah, look how easy it is ta say thank ya."

The girl, Ilah, grunted out a sound somewhere between acknowledgment and dismissal.

"Miss..." the boy began, "I must humbly beg your forgiveness, and I assure you I will pay my thousand apologies with a thousand thrashings when I return to the Si Wong."

"Why wait?" Toph quipped, slapping his rear with a quickly-conjured paddle of earth.

"Ow! Why you... violent, boorish-" the boy muttered something in a language she could not understand. "Very well... I deserve that."

"One down, nine-hundred ninety-nine to go."

Toph could feel the boy about to burst out in an angry tirade, or perhaps even attack her like last time, but to her surprise he calmed down and sighed. "I am Ghan. Do you remember me?"

"Ah, that was the name. Yeah, we met back at the oasis. You were a jerk then too."

"That was... not my intention."

"It wasn't your intention to treat me like an invalid and then peep at me like some kind of pervert? Well, that's good news."

"That's... no... you must understand-"

"Aw, Ghan, I reckon yer redder than a belly drum!" Mijo gleefully commented.

"Of course I am! I cannot believe I was so negligent in basic courtesy such as to enter a woman's room unannounced!"

"Don't forget uninvited," Toph added.

"Yes, well, you see, Ilah was insistent that-"

"Yeah... speaking of whom, what's with your friend there? She's coiled like a cornered rat-viper."

Ghan turned his attention to the other girl. "Hmm, come to think of it, Ilah, you do seem more agitated than usual. Are you alright?"

"Leave her be, hun, please." Mijo pleaded.

An annoyed grumble, and Ilah turned to walk away. With a perfectly postured, haughty, nose-upturned stride. Each step sending vibrations through the ground and sharpening Toph's inner resolution of this seemingly mute member of their party.

"So, you guys are on the lam from the Kyoshi Warriors, huh?" Toph asked.

The girl called Ilah froze midstep.

"Key-o-sher-whatnow?" Mijo said.

"Perhaps she could help." Ghan whispers, but far too loudly.

"Y'all hear some weird hummin' noise?" Mijo asked, distractedly.

_Could that other girl be... she's lighter, and I have no idea how she got here, but-_

"I must be cursed."

_Ah, there's the voice. I can hardly believe it._ "Well, I can imagine it's been a long and tough road. The Kyoshi Warriors are very dedicated, especially when its personal."

"Personal?" Ghan asked. Mijo sighed.

"You dunderheads have no idea who you've been traveling with, do you?"

* * *

Azula answered the rhetorical question with a bolt of fire from a spinning backhand. Of all the members of the Avatar's entourage she had to run into, it had to be the one with super-sensitive hearing. For all she knew, she was made the moment she stepped foot into this camp, and while the runt was getting healed, she had probably called for reinforcements to seal off the entire area. _I have to get out of here._

Her firebending, which was yet again appallingly weak compared to what she should have been able to produce, met quickly with a jutting spire of earth. Both Mijo and Ghan stumbled away from it, nearly losing their balance. Azula marveled at the speed with which this tiny, pale girl bent the earth. It was almost as if she was countering before Azula had completed her own strike.

The top of the spire cracked and shifted towards her, and Azula fell flat on her back to avoid the sudden missile. She rolled aside and flipped to her feet immediately, wary of any unnecessary contact with the ground against an earthbender of this caliber, and rightfully so: the spot she had occupied in the dirt a mere half-second ago caved in like a sink-hole.

Azula sidestepped and tried to make the best use of her diminished power by making precise strikes, but each streamer of flame was easily deflected or avoided.

"Please, cease this violence!" Ghan shouted.

"Help out or shut up, Altar Boy," the blind girl said as she threw a wave of earth towards Azula. At this point, Mijo was in the line of fire, but the rolling wave parted around the waterbender as if the ground found her repellent, and then merged back together. Azula tried to leap over it, but as she did, the wave gained height at the expense of breadth, and the impact sent her sliding roughly along the coarse plateau.

Blinking the dust from her eyes, Azula stumbled to her feet. A deep droning sound pounded in her head, hopefully a headache brought on by fighting while dehydrated, and not some symptom of a concussion. Aside from the Day of Black Sun, she had limited experience fighting this child. Though it seemed that the girl lacked the backup of the Avatar or any of her other friends, judging by Mijo and Ghan's relative non-interference, Azula herself had no backup either, except that lone Dai Li agent sneaking along the perimeter of the camp.

_Wait, Dai Li agent? Am I hallucinating again?_

The blind girl shifted her feet and twisted her arms overhead. Azula prepared to dodge, but was shocked to see the lurking (and as it so happened, quite real) agent get brutally lifted with a pillar of earth, then smashed into the ground, leaving a crude arch with the now unconscious agent's head poking out one side.

She looked up and spotted an airship bedecked in green and black, of a design of which she'd never even seen the prototype. It was far more wood than metal, broader, and held aloft by a series of balloons attached to a sort of wing, instead of a single large one. However, the bombs it was about to drop were absolutely familiar: they were the same munitions she used to bombard the Western Air Temple and she knew were used to fight off the invaders on the Day of Black Sun.

The first salvo of explosives tumbled in the air. She quickly calculated where each would land, and most were over open ground, as the women had taken the children safely away the moment the fighting began. However, one was going to land right next to Mijo, Ghan, and the Avatar's earthbending master.

It was not a decision, not even a snap decision, really. More like a reflex. For the briefest of moments, there was no Azula, only the storm building within her. Her eyes focused only on the blue light roiling around her fingers. Quickly, she coursed her arms in an abridged version of the lightning kata, and pointed at the descending explosive.

It was the first time she had attempted lightning since electrocuting herself in the swamp, and this time her form was flawless. The arc of raw natural energy struck true, detonating the shell high in the air, and Azula came back to the present along with the thundering report.

* * *

Toph could only stand and 'stare' at the ground.

A minute ago, Azula was trying to take her down, although making a poor showing of it. Toph almost felt embarrassed by how seemingly overkill her defenses were compared to Azula's relatively weak firebending. What happened to those fireballs that fell like miniature suns and could leave five-foot deep craters in solid stone?

Then a bunch of Dai Li scuttled along the perimeter of the camp, by all accounts appearing out of thin air, and she realized that mechanical buzzing she'd been hearing was a kind of airship engine. She never expected earthbending elites to arrive by the skies.

She had taken one agent out, only to sense a disturbing amount of metal about to fall on her head, and simultaneously noticed Azula shifting her weight around in what had to be the quickest lightning form on record. In a desperate attempt to defend against both, she tried to seize the metal of whatever was about to drop on her and fling it between herself and the princess.

It was too far away yet, and moving too fast, and Azula was already releasing the attack. Toph managed a half-step before an overhead explosion knocked her flat on her stomach.

_What? Did she just... no way._

Toph felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, assisting her off the ground.

"Y'all okay, hun?" Mijo asked.

"Fine," Toph said. "Where's Azula?"

"Who?" Ghan asked.

"Runnin' off. Reckon we got bigger problems," Mijo said, gesturing upwards.

Toph turned to the swamp native. "You knew."

"Now's not the time to be talkin' 'bout this, missy. A big ol' flyin' boat is droppin' thunder-in-a-barrel all over us!"

"Point taken, but we're having a chat later."

"May I ask _why_ we're under bombardment?" Ghan cut in.

"Because the former secret police of Ba Sing Se have a personal vendetta against me. Now hang on."

"Wha-aaahhhh!" Toph launched the three of them straight up with a quick shove from the ground, interrupting whatever time-wasting query Ghan was about to utter. The ship above them, though composed of far less metal than other models she had been around, still had enough of it in its skeleton for her to make use of, both for angling her 'jump' and to use as a weapon once on board.

They landed, roughly but securely, on the catwalks underneath the main hold of the ship.

"Time to get to work, ladies."

* * *

Ty Lee urged her ostrich-horse even faster, though she knew the poor animal was already exhausted. Kanima, all sense of humor gone for the moment, rode hard alongside her. After all, there was nothing funny about shelling a bunch of unarmed women and children. Even Ty Lee felt enraged by it, and though anger was something she allowed herself to experience more often lately, even she could admit in her bubbliest moments that this kind of horrific assault would make any decent human being gnash their teeth together.

They left the earthbenders behind, although not far behind, as without a doubt they were sprinting or bending themselves forward as fast as they knew how, what with their wives, children, mothers, or siblings under attack.

"That's not a Fire Nation ship I've ever seen, but it's sure using Fire Nation weapons. Who the hell is doing this?" Kanima asked as clawed feet tore up the path carved into the plateau.

Ty Lee was about to offer a guess when the silhouette of a man appeared at the top of the path. Though the angle of the sun made it difficult to see details, the broad conical hat and earthbending stance told her all she needed to know.

"Dai Li! Jump!"

Kanima reacted almost instantly, her training to trust her fellow warriors' warnings in combat sending her in a leaping dismount right alongside Ty Lee. Before they even landed in a gymnast's tumble along the ground, two shunts of rock from the cliffside battered their steeds right off the path and into the ravine below.

Ty Lee rolled to her feet and charged straight at the agent, tears stinging her eyes. "You killed them! You _killed_ them!"

The Dai Li drew his basalt-gloved hand back in preparation for another bending attack, but a closed war fan hurled over Ty Lee's shoulder clipped his arm before he could complete the move, giving the acrobat the few extra seconds she needed to close the gap. By the time he recovered, Ty Lee was savagely punching his pressure points, not just to disable his bending and his body, but to leave him in throbbing pain as well.

"Jerk!"

"Ty Lee, we have to keep moving!"

"R-right. Okay."

Kanima recovered her thrown fan and tucked it in her belt, drawing a katana and deploying her forearm buckler instead. They ran for the center of the camp, weaving around earthbent dwellings and other structures. As Ty Lee rounded the corner of some kind of grain mill, she plowed straight into another person. Naturally, she turned the impact into a back handspring. The other person landed roughly on their rear.

Gold eyes met gray.

Azula got to her feet. "Ty Lee?"

"Azula?!"

Both girls at once said: "You're working with the Dai Li! No I'm not!"

Azula rolled her eyes. "They're attacking this sorry excuse for a village. I have no idea why, but I'm not sticking around to find out."

"You're not going anywhere, Princess," Kanima said.

"And you stole my special armor!" Ty Lee added.

A series of explosions rang out nearby, shaking the ground.

"You don't have time to subdue me if you want to protect these people, and you know it."

"Well, that's awfully convenient-" Kanima began.

"Help us stop them," Ty Lee said.

Kanima turned to her, every inch of the warrior's face exclaiming how insane she thought their band's newest member just became.

"And they say I'm the crazy one," Azula muttered. "No, thanks."

A rock boot soared at Azula's head. The princess kipped back to avoid it, then returned fire with a twin-fisted strike, sending a pair orange fire blasts into the Dai Li agent that had attacked from the nearby roof, and knocking him to the ground.

Two more agents appeared where the first had fallen, skating around the moaning body. Kanima slashed at the ankles of one man, but he leaped over the blade and threw a stone fist at her, which she blocked with her shield. The other tried to toss metal chains at Ty Lee, but she twirled between them, closed the distance, and landed a snap-kick to the man's groin.

Which was apparently protected by stone. Ty Lee fell backwards with a pained yelp. The Kyoshi armor she wore helped, but she held nothing back on that kick. When she looked up, it was to the grim expression of a man who had no quarrel with killing a young girl on the battlefield, and he was already about to perforate her with black stone bullets at point blank range. There was nothing she could do to avoid it.

A flash of fire hit the man in the face, sending him to the ground screaming. Ty Lee turned to Azula, who looked just as confused as she herself was. Then the princess was all steel again.

"If you're going to die, Ty Lee, I don't want to be in the audience," Azula said. The princess punctuated her remark by dashing into the random alleys of the camp-village.

Ty Lee glanced over to the two agents felled by Azula's attacks, one moaning and covering his chest, the other gasping and clutching at his face. The sound of steel ringing on stone brought her attention to Kanima, who was trading blows with the third Dai Li agent in melee.

She got to her feet. Her shin would be severely bruised, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins would keep her mobile enough. Between sword slashes and parries, Ty Lee maneuvered behind Kanima's opponent and landed a series of jabs along his spine, forcing him to collapse in a boneless heap.

"Damn, that guy was _tough_. You okay?"

"Yeah... Azula saved me."

"I saw."

"She said she'd never watch me die."

"No, she said she'd never want to be in the audience when you die. For all you know, that could mean she just wants to kill you herself."

"That's ridiculous!"

"From what I've seen of that lunatic, it wouldn't surprise me."

"You barely know her!"

A sigh. "Look, let's not fight about this now. Sounds like the bombs have stopped, but I bet there are still plenty of these Dai Li guys to beat up."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Just don't try any more groin kicks. I thought you broke your leg for a second."

"Yeah, felt like it too. It's like these guys have been up against a girl who fights dirty for the past week or something."

* * *

The airship was smaller than what Ozai used to try to burn down the Earth Kingdom, but still fairly large, and therefore surprisingly lacking in crew. She imagined the Dai Li must have all dropped down, not expecting her to be able to get herself so high into the air. Their mistake.

Still, there was some resistance.

"Look out!" Ghan shouted, pulverizing a stone glove meant for Mijo's head.

"Thanks..." Mijo whispered, clearly frightened by the viciousness of the narrowly prevented attack, or maybe still recovering from being catapulted about fifty feet into the air.

Ghan gathered the debris from the shattered Dai Li attack into a loose ball. "Finally, I have something to fight with. What use did you think I'd be up here?"

"About as useful as you are on the ground," Toph quipped, "but better than nothing."

"I should inform you: I'm going to start counting your insults as thrashings."

"Nine-hundred ninety-eight to go, then."

"Ugh."

Mijo groaned. "Don't get me wrong, y'all flirtin' is cute 'n all, but can we finish up and git off this dang thing?"

"As if I'd be interested in a smelly sand-priest."

"Nine-hundred ninety-seven."

"Who preaches and whines almost constantly."

"Ninety-six."

Toph punched him hard in the arm.

"Ow. Ninety-five."

An agent burst out of a door in the hallway. Being essentially unarmed, Mijo slapped him as hard as she could, which turned out to be pretty hard, if the sound was any indication. Toph followed up by forcing him to punch himself in the nose and temple with his own gloved fists, then appropriating said gloves for herself.

"Yoink!"

"Well done. Now where?" Ghan asked.

Toph banged on the metal piping that ran along the corridor. "Bridge is up ahead."

They ran, and Toph found herself reminiscing a little. The company of a lousy earthbender and a virtually non-combatant waterbender was a poor substitute for raiding a fleet with Suki and Sokka, but that just meant she got to do more of the butt-kicking, and there was nothing wrong with that. On this ship, there was less metal to play with, but she did not want to wreck it anyway. The Dai Li delivered her an early birthday present, and she intended to graciously accept.

The bridge, like other airships, had a metal door. In fact, besides the frame, this was the most metal on the entire ship. Ironic that it was probably the easiest room for her to break into.

_Tap tap ta-tap tap, tap CRASH._ The door was kicked right off its hinges, and into the back of an agent manning the controls. She launched her pilfered gloves at the lone other man in the room, knocking the wind from his lungs and slamming him into a wall. Both were out cold.

Toph quickly scanned the room (and especially the ceiling) for any others, but found no one. There may still have been agents on the ship, but they'd have a hard time sneaking up on her at this point, as she lifted the door up with her metalbending and roughly shoved it back into place, if not on its hinges.

"How in the name of the spirits are you able to do that?" Ghan asked in awe.

"Huh? Oh, the metal. That's because I'm the greatest earthbender in the world."

"Certainly not the most modest," he mumbled.

"Yes well, thanks to you, I'm probably the most immodest earthbender in the world now too."

"In her defense, hun, I reckon I'd be struttin' a bit if I could tear up doors like that too."

"Yeah, unfortunately," Toph drawled, "what I can't do is steer this thing. I wouldn't suppose either of you know how to operate an airship, would you?"

"Is it like a tank-train?" Ghan asked.

"Probably not."

"Well, reckon we best be learnin' quick then."

* * *

Once the men from the bridge-building crew joined the fray, and their air support mysteriously lumbered away, the Dai Li agents raiding the camp became decidedly less confident. Ty Lee and Kanima cornered the last of them in the center of town, along with Tyro and Haru, that latter of whom Ty Lee decided actually looked kind of hot with that mustache. Maybe she had a thing for guys with facial hair?

A stone bullet clipped her headdress. _Ok, let's focus now._ Although Ty Lee preferred to be without the added weight of what some of her fellow warriors carried, she wished she at least opted to carry their spring-deployed shields. The Dai Li liked their smaller projectiles over the typical earthbender's giant, crushing missiles, and they were a lot harder to avoid.

Kanima had lost her blade somewhere in the camp, and was now fighting with a fan and shield instead. Though the other girls tended to specialize in one aspect of their combat training (Iru preferred the two-handed katana styles, Hei-lin hand-to-hand, Osha sword and shield, and Yumi a pair of fans), Kanima was like Suki in that she used whatever was best in the situation, and was more than happy to improvise. It was no surprise to Ty Lee, then, when Kanima hurled her fan in a seemingly desperate attempt to land a hit on one of the agents, rolled behind a well, and then popped up to smash a bucket into the temple of the first agent who tried to capitalize on her false vulnerability.

Tyro caught two stone fists launched at him, one in each hand. Crushing them together into a ball, he kicked the much denser stone glob into the man who tried to attack him. The agent parted the sphere with a chop of his hands, but one of the halves struck another agent instead.

Haru used a lighter style, nimbly avoiding attacks and retaliating with a rapid series of small stone missiles. Like his father, he tried to overwhelm his opponent, but instead of using a single, devastating attack, he favored a rapid combination.

Both were effective, as the father and son knocked down each other's attackers in the crossfire. Ty Lee, seeing an opening, leaped over their broken front line and began to disable them from their blind sides. She dropped flat like a flame-limbo champion to avoid a spinning kick, then delivered a few precises hits with her own feet, collapsing one. Another tried to bend a spire from under her feet, but she just used it to lever her into the air so she could bring an axe heel into the nerve at the base of his neck. Another stone glove, expertly avoided and striking his fellow in the back. The ground under her feet suddenly became like marbles, but she simply turned her momentum in a slide between her target's outstretched legs, popped up behind him, and put him down.

During her flurry of blows, her allies knocked out and disabled the rest. The other earthbenders were already dragging the Dai Li into roughly the same spot: some dead, some wounded. The mournful cries of men and women alike told Ty Lee that there had been casualties on both sides.

"I don't understand. We're doing charitable work for the Earth Kingdom here. Why would they attack us?" Tyro asked.

"I don't know. Toph said they were after her. I should have taken her warning more seriously," Haru replied.

"Son, no one is to blame for this except these bottom-feeding turncoats."

"Where _is_ Toph?" Haru asked, as he looked around with obvious concern.

"She and two of our guests boarded that airship." Qimu said, limping towards the group.

"Mom! Are you alright?"

"Qimu!"

"I'm fine, just a twisted ankle. Others were far less fortunate."

Ty Lee turned away from the reunited family, and tried to tune out the sorrow of all the families that could not be reunited. Instead, she focused only on restraining the agents that were still alive and most likely to be a threat. She did not want to think about what just happened here. _Just manacle or hogtie the bad guys with their own belts. Loop, turn, over, through, yank... maybe yank extra hard. You can cry later. All you lost was an animal._

But tears were already running down her face, beading down her waterproof makeup and staining the ground.

** A/N:** Going to try to write at least a section per week going forward. Since my chapters typically sport three or four main sections (different character's POVs), that should put an update out once a month, roughly. Which is about three times faster than my current average, and way faster than the past two years. I figure if I break it into smaller pieces, I'll stop my heinous procrastinating. Hopefully.

Also, as you noticed, I gave Haru's mother a name. Qimu came from 'mu qin', which is formal mandarin for 'mother' (I'm so creative :P). I ditched a letter ('n') and moved the syllables around, and made sure the new name didn't translate into some horrific racial slur or something. Before anyone asks, I have absolutely no grasp of any foreign language besides some limited German. I just looked things up on the good ol' intarwebs.


End file.
